


Tiger by the Tail

by Vandereer



Category: One Piece
Genre: Amputation, Attempted Murder, Character Death, Drug Mentions, Eventual Smut, Eye Trauma, Gun Violence, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Character Death, Modern AU, Murder, Organized Crime, Past Character Death, Police Procedural, Slow Burn, Swearing, Torture, Trans Portgas D. Ace, post getting shot a lot smut, post-action smut, really there's just.... so many murder, though tbh there's only two smut scenes because they dont have tIME, zolu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2020-03-10 00:25:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 85,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18927580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vandereer/pseuds/Vandereer
Summary: Roronoa Zoro is a detective living in the coastal All Blue City, working with his partner Tashigi. Together they must somehow find a crucial witness to a bloody triple homicide. The witness can lead them to the most sadistic crime boss in the city, but the path to doing so is lined with violence and corruption.Meanwhile, a certain firefighter just wants a bowl of damn ramen.





	1. Burnin' for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Roronoa Zoro is having a weird week. First a bunch of (literal) clowns almost burn down the neighbourhood, then he gets asked out on a (maybe) date by a handsome firefighter.  
> His life seems to be changing for the better... Until he hears a name that turns his world upside-down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Edited chapter 29/02/2020)  
> R-r-r-rewrite time! I’ve kinda hated this chapter for a while now since it has all the awkwardness that comes with not really knowing what the hell you’re doing or where you’re going with a story. This fic is getting on a year old and I was in a weird mood writing it too (as of writing, it's birthday is in 3 months, how crazy is that??)  
> I ended up not changing much, just got rid of a few awkward-ass sentences, added a new scene and a rEALLY AWKWARD FIRST KISS GDI ZORO. Hopefully it reads a little better than the original. I might do the same with chapter 2 but iirc I’m mostly happy with that one and the subsequent chapters.

Zoro yawns widely, tears stinging his red-rimmed eyes. _Man,_ he’s tired; too tired for a day spent accomplishing a load of nothing. Parking disputes, complaints about noise, and a strange old man who swore up and down he saw a sea serpent off the coast of Sabaody Pier. Why he felt the need to call the police about that, Zoro didn’t know. 

After a day like that, it feels fitting that Zoro and his partner just fell into a booth in a slightly dirty waffle house, just trying to keep occupied and awake until their shifts end. 

The cracked porcelain mug is warm against Zoro's lips, the mediocre coffee doing little to wake him up this late at night, just uselessly jacking up his heart rate.

He puts his mug down with an emphatic _clunk_ and glances at his partner sitting opposite him. “Been kinda quiet lately.” 

“That’s a _good_ thing, Zoro.” Tashigi reminds him gently. She pushes her glasses up her nose, before continuing to scribble away into a huge stack of paperwork. It occurs to Zoro that he could be doing the same - filling out paperwork - but on the other hand, he'd rather die. 

“It’s alright for you; you actually _like_ the desk job stuff.”  
“I like doing it more than hearing you complain about it.”

“Oof, you got me.”

She gives him a distracted smile before getting back to work, her own stack of pancakes long forgotten about beside her.

“You scare me, you know.” she says idly. “Whenever you get restless like this, it’s only a matter of time before some kind of chaos finds us. You’re like a magnet for it.”

Zoro picks up his fork and cuts off a corner of his stale waffle. “How am I a magnet for chaos?” 

She puts her pen down and leans forward on her elbows, her dark bob of hair swaying.

“Remember last summer, the fundraiser we had to fix the Aqua Laguna damages? You started getting restless because we had nothing to do, and the next thing you’re mouthing off to that upper-class moron from Mariejois.”  
Zoro shoves the forkful of waffle into his mouth and scowls. “He had it coming.”  
“Yes but… you’re not supposed to tell _him_ that, to his face.”

Tashigi swipes at an ink stain on the fluffy white sleeve of her coat, from where her pen has been leaking into it. “All I’m saying is; trouble is either going to find you, or you’re going to go looking for it.”

She leans back and kicks him in the leg under the table. “So why not just enjoy the quiet while it lasts?”

He rolls his eyes at her. Quiet isn’t good for him; quiet exposes all the uncomfortable things he’d rather not dwell on in his life. Like the background hum of a mild case of tinnitus, always there but much more noticeable when there’s no other sounds to cover it.

He needs something to do, a goal to accomplish, otherwise the whine will drive him crazy.

 

Zoro jumps in his seat when the radio in his pocket buzzes to life. Tashigi is already waving at him as if to say, ‘told you so!’.

“Dispatch, this is Detective Roronoa. What’s the problem?” 

“There’s a big fire down near Orange Town. Suspect is wearing a clown getup, seems to be threatening an officer with a knife.”

Zoro chokes on his last sip of coffee. _This fucking city, I swear to god._

Fire. Clown. Knife. Not a good combination of words on the best of days.

“We’re on our way.” Zoro says before hurrying out of the booth. Tashigi gathers up her paperwork and knocks over her cup of coffee in the process. “Well, didn’t last as long as I hoped.” she says, shoving her stained paperwork into her bag.

“Just drive, smartass.”

 

* * *

 

The circus tent burning against the night sky is visible long before they get there. Zoro knows it isn’t a sight he’s going to forget anytime soon. The fire team is already there, spraying hoses of high-pressure water over the white-hot flames.

A man with a sword strapped to his side and a unicycle under one arm is bolting down the street as they arrive, as well as other brightly-dressed people running away from the blaze. There’s far too many to bother running after them all individually. 

Zoro’s focus is on the blue-haired clown who apparently isn’t smart enough to run like the rest of them.

The young beat cop looks more than a little terrified with the raggedy, aging clown up in his face. He is indeed holding a knife, screaming “I AIN’T GOING BACK TO JAIL, Y’HEAR?” at him. He turns towards them as Tashigi stops the car.

“Oh shit!” the clown mutters, before running off 

Zoro and Tashigi run after him through some unfortunate person's garden, and corner him as he tries to escape over their back fence. 

“Hey lemme go, I don’t know anything! It was Mohji, he was the one who started the fire!”

“Who the hell is Mohji?” Zoro says.  
The clown’s red-painted mouth twists in a rubbery frown. “...Oh crap, I left him in the tent.”

Zoro and Tashigi drag the clown back to the sidewalk and sit him down.

 

A loud crash and a whoosh of flames turns Zoro’s head back towards the tent. The firefighter bursts out of the entrance, barely a moment before it collapses in a rush of sparks and ash. He has not only a much bigger man slung over one shoulder, but also a housecat under his arm. A round of cheers greet the man as he hurries away from the collapsing tent. His fellow firefighters crowd around him, slapping his back. 

"Crazy brave idiot!" 

"Crazy-crazy idiot more like." 

“Não é nada guys, come on!” The fireman says, muffled under a thick face guard and oxygen mask.

The fireman dumps who Zoro assumes to be the beast tamer of the circus onto a waiting stretcher and the EMTs quickly supply him with an oxygen mask. Good thing that he seems more or less awake and unhurt, because Zoro has a lot of fucking questions.

The man is wearing a ridiculous white lion get-up, with fluffy gloves and boots shaped like paws and a tail stitched onto the back of his pants.

“Okay, tell me what happened here.” Zoro says as he takes his reading glasses and notepad from his front pocket. He’s definitely not ready to hear this.

The man looks uncomfortable and hugs his cat closer to his half-bare chest, despite the creature’s low growling and folded back ears. “Well - you see we... We wanted a lion to jump through a burning hoop, but we couldn’t get a lion… Or a permit for the tent. So I was going to make Richie do it.”

‘Richie’ lets out a stuttering series of yowls and bats the Beast Tamer in the face. The cat runs off and begins trying to wriggle out of the singed lion’s mane.

“That didn’t go well, so I dressed up and tried it myself. We had some trouble trying to get the hoop to light, so Cabaji went and got a can of gasoline...”

Zoro scribbles into his pad, adding ‘potential animal abuse’ and ‘illegal business practices’ to their charges.

“Then my hat caught fire and I kind of panicked...”

Zoro rubs the bridge of his nose under his glasses and squeezes his eyes shut, considering throwing down his badge and quitting right then and there. 

 _Think of your health insurance man._ He tells himself.

He spares a glance at the firefighters, who are desperately trying to stop the burning tent embers from catching the entire neighbourhood on fire.

“Is there anything else?” Zoro says, as the Beast Tamer huffs quickly on the oxygen mask. “Or am I correct that you endangered the neighbourhood, your customers and your own lives?”  
“Well, all the customers got bored and left while we were trying to light the hoop.”

Zoro flips his pad closed and nods at the EMTs.

“I’ve got all I need for now. I’ll make sure someone picks him up as soon as he’s treated.”

Zoro finds himself wondering what hell dimension he slipped into when the clown breaks free of Tashigi’s grip. She cries out as the clown throws her off his back and bolts down the street with his clown shoes squeaking. Zoro tears off after him and bellows as he launches himself at the clown’s back in a football tackle. They skid to a stop, Zoro sitting on his back like he were a bobsled and the clown with his face squashed against the sidewalk. 

“Okay… I changed my mind. You can take me to jail now.” he mutters.

Zoro finally cuffs his other wrist and walks the bloody-nosed clown back to their car. By the time he’s shoved the man into the back and shut the door, a lot of people are taking pictures on their phones. He’s too weary to try and yell at them for it.

“Sorry Zoro, I wasn’t expecting him to be so strong… Since he’s a _clown_.”

“Is he? I hadn’t noticed.” 

Some reporters from the World Economy News approach them, already shoving a microphone in their faces. “Detectives, do you have a few minutes?”

Zoro walks away with a mutter of “No comment.” and lets Tashigi handle it. He’s never been good at dealing with reporters, and doesn’t feel like starting now, of all nights.

While he walks away, waiting for them to get their recording, he notices the firefighter who had hauled the lion-man out of the tent. He slouches on the back of his fire truck, sipping water and pausing occasionally to pour some of it over his head. His hair is shaggy and black, stuck to his forehead with sweat. His dark skin is covered with a layer of ash and soot, which runs down his face in rivulets as the water cleans it off. He looks up when he spots Zoro, his dark eyes sparkling with interest. “Hey, do you like ramen?” he says suddenly.

“...What?” is all Zoro can say in return. 

“I’m starved!” He pauses with a finger over one of his nostrils and blows a disgusting wad of black, ashy snot out of his nose. “I saw a sign for a new type with shredded pork. Like those pulled-pork sandwiches, except in a bowl! You want to go get some ramen with me?”

The look he gives Zoro is so piercing and the question so odd that his brain temporarily shuts down. He’s very handsome with his chinstrap stubble and squarish jawline, but there’s something approachable and boyish about him too.

“I kinda have to get that clown back to the station.” Zoro admits, wondering when he’ll get a chance to say something like _that_ ever again. “And I’ll probably have a ton of paperwork to fill out after. Sorry.”

The firefighter gets up and shakes water droplets from his hair like a dog, spattering Zoro’s shirt and leather jacket.

“That’s too bad. Maybe another time?” The firefighter slaps Zoro’s shoulder and grins at him with embers dancing in his eyes. “Officer.”  
Zoro watches him walk away, putting his helmet back on as he prepares to help deal with putting out the rest of the fire. He rolls the ‘maybe next time’ part around in his mind, questioning the logic when the man didn’t even tell him his name.

He wanders back to the car when Tashigi is done giving her report. How she manages to look energised after events like these is beyond him.

Zoro slumps into the passenger seat and stares ahead at the darkening street. 

“I need a drink.” he says.

“You say that every time we get called out.” Tashigi says with a frown.

“Yeah, but this time I _really_ mean it.”

 

* * *

 

It’s early morning by the time they finish processing Baggy or Buggy or whatever the clown’s name was, and Zoro trudges down the halls of the All Blue police department to deliver the report. He’s bleary-eyed and yawning harder than ever as he opens the door to the Captain’s office, running only on fumes and shitty office coffee at this point. Smoke pours out of the office as Zoro opens the door. The least the bastard could do is open a window, so Zoro doesn’t have to see his face looming out of the fog like something in a horror movie.

Zoro slaps the report down on Smoker’s desk, getting another puff of smoke in his face from the man. He glances away from his laptop and thumbs open the file.

“It’s all there, is it?” Smoker gruffs at him. “You got every clown?”

Amusement and cigar smoke leak out from between his slightly yellow teeth as he grins up at Zoro. The bastard looks well-rested, his graying undercut is neatly combed and there’s the rich scent of freshly brewed coffee under the smoke.

“Except the one I’m looking at, yeah.” Zoro snaps back tiredly.

Smoker tuts at him through his cigar. “Watch it son.” he pauses to flick through the file and narrows his eyes. “I only see two arrests made.”

“Some kind of acrobat and a bunch of others fled the scene as we got there, but we got the ringleader at least.”

Smoker slowly flicks through the report and Zoro feels his heels throbbing in his boots. It’s a game they play, when Zoro is desperate to go home to shower and sleep and Smoker takes his sweet-ass time making sure everything is there.

“You’re free to go.” the Captain says eventually.

“Good, because god help you if you say I’m not.” Zoro says with a scowl.

Smoker laughs. “I’m just watchin’ out for you kid. You don’t want to make a mistake when the case goes to court; a simple typo could cost ya. Don’t want those dangerous circus performers roaming the streets.”

Zoro turns around and slouches towards the door. “Oh my god, I’m going home.”

“Who knows, could be _mimes_ next!” Smoker yells after him with a laugh.

“Fuck you!”

Smoker keeps laughing at him as he barges out of the office, he hears the laugh turn into a coughing fit as he marches down the hall.

 _Serves you right…_ Zoro thinks.

The last of the fall sunshine is beginning to glow through the windows, stinging his eyes. He’s thinking about nothing else but his dark room and cool bed sheets when he hears quiet, conspiratory chuckles.

Guilty eyes under a fringe of baby-pink hair meet his and quickly look away. Coby tries to hide the piece of paper he’s sticking to the wall, while his cleft-chinned friend Zoro can never remember the name of holds a stack of photocopies.

Zoro shoves Coby aside to see a grainy photo of him shoving the clown’s face into the tarmac with a deranged snarl on his face. The caption underneath reads:

‘DETECTIVE RORONOA’S NIGHT AT THE CIRCUS!’

“Um Mr. Roronoa sir,” Coby stutters. “He asked for my printer credits! I had nothing to do with making them - the posters I mean.”

“You thought up the caption, you liar!” Coby’s friend spits at him. 

Their loud arguing sends the beginnings of a headache throbbing towards his temples and Zoro walks away, pausing to flip Coby’s hat down over his eyes as he trudges towards the locker room. He’s far too tired to care. 

Officers Yosaku and Johnny are in the locker room when he gets there. They giggle when they see him, but soon stop when they notice his weary gait and shadowed eyes.

“Uh, hell of a night you had by the sounds of it bro.” Yosaku says, drowning his hairy pits in deodorant. The smell sticks to the back of Zoro’s throat and clogs his nostrils.

“Please, don’t.” Zoro mutters as he opens his locker and grabs his keys and motorcycle helmet.

“We thought since you made Detective and all, you wouldn’t be doing that kind of work anymore.”

“Neither did I…” Zoro says. His official title is homicide investigator, but that seems to have been updated to include ‘clown wrangler’. It’s been years since he actually investigated any murders. Like Tashigi had said, it’s a good thing, but a sick little part of him longs for a big case to solve. “Shigs and I were almost done for the night and happened to be closest to the scene.”

He recalls his unfinished plate of waffles and wants to slap himself for tempting fate. Nothing ever stays quiet for long in All Blue City.

“Hey bro, about Saturday.” Johnny starts, with a guilty air around him as he ties his tie and shoves his badge into his belt. “Can we knock the gym on the head? Since you had such a rough night and all…”

Zoro shoves his face close to Johnny’s and pokes him in the sternum.

“No weekends off. Prepare to work out until your eyes bleed. You said you wanted to get strong and I’m taking time out of my own routine to train you.”

“Don’t be so harsh man!” Yosaku says.

Zoro socks Yosaku in the arm in response, causing him to yowl and clutch at the spot.

“If you wanted a weekend off ever again, you shouldn’t have asked me in the first place.”

His two friends grumble and he catches a mutter of ‘hard-ass’. He doesn’t care. 

When he gets home he falls onto his bed and is asleep before he can get under the sheets.

 

* * *

 

Zoro forgot when exactly he became the kind of person who spends almost every minute of his spare time working out. The air-conditioned confines of the gym are essentially a second home at this point. 

Their sessions usually end with one, or more likely both of his friends lying on the padded mats, gasping like fishes out of water and begging for a trip to the local diner. Today Zoro watches them sat on a bench, nursing a sports drink with his chin resting on his fist. He’s not really paying attention apart from spotting them. His head is full of vague fantasies about the firefighter, and how many muscles he must have underneath that bulky padded suit.

“What’s wrong bro?” Johnny says, wearing a shirt printed with ‘Everything hurts and I’m dying’ on it in blocky font. “You sick or something? Last week you were lifting that thing over your head like it was nothing.” Johnny points to a barbell with the heaviest weights in the room attached to each end. Zoro shrugs and clears his throat, trying to act like he wasn’t just thinking about getting plowed by a cute fireman. “Not really feeling it today.”

Yosaku blurts out a laugh, his own shirt printed with another _hilarious_ joke: ‘I would have quit already but my trainer scares me’.

“Not feeling it? _You_?”

“I’m just… a little tired of it. I feel like I’m either here, at home or at work.”

“That’s cause you are.” Yosaku says, before Johnny elbows him in the side.

“That’s not true! We go to the bar too, and you make us run around the park, we’re not _total_ losers.”

“What brought this on man?” Yosaku says, then a cheeky smile spreads across his face. “Dude. You haven’t gotten laid in a while, huh?”

Zoro jolts and his hand reflexively clenches around his sports drink, making a stream of windshield-cleaner blue liquid squirt out. “Shut your goddamn mouth.” he says, blushing.

“We should find you a date, before you snap and murder someone.” Yosaku says, Johnny nodding along. Zoro wants to slap both of them upside the head.

“I could find a date myself, if I had the time…” Zoro mutters. 

“We can help! There’s plenty of gay dudes around here, I’m sure. What about...” Yosaku pauses to scratch his chin and points to an absurdly tall blonde man doing squats nearby. “That guy! He’s pretty cute, right?”

The man turns with a flick of his ridiculous blonde hair and Zoro catches long-lashed black eyes looking back at him. He gives Zoro the strangest approximation of a wink he’s ever seen, one that twists his features into a pained grimace.

Zoro looks at Yosaku in disgust. “Were you _born_ without eyes?”

“Well, who is your type?” Johnny asks. “We could help if we knew what kinda guy you were looking for.”

He huffs, immediately thinking about the firefighter again. He doesn’t know exactly what it was about the man, maybe the wild black hair and the scar over his cheek, the scrutinising way he had looked at Zoro and the shining eyes. Or maybe just the accent alone that causes Zoro’s cheeks to swim with heat even now.

 _That._ That is his type.

It causes something else to occur to him with a lurch. 

 _Man_ , _did I really turn down getting noodles with a hot firefighter to do_ paperwork _? What is_ wrong _with me?!_

Zoro knows himself too well to ever expect that he would hit the brakes on his duties as a cop to run off and get food with a stranger, but a part of him wishes to god that he _was_ that kind of guy.

“I-I don’t know.” Zoro says eventually, with a traitorous blush creeping up his neck. His friends both flash shit-eating grins his way.

“You like someone already, huh?” Yosaku says. Zoro gets up and jabs a finger at them.

“I will let you off the hook early today, if you two forget this conversation ever happened.”

“No promises.” Johnny says.

“Unless you get us burgers.” Yosaku adds.

“I’ll show you where you can put your damn burgers…” Zoro mutters as his friends suddenly gain the energy to run towards the locker room like a pair of kids.

 

* * *

 

He’s usually too tired to dream, but that night Zoro dreams of strong, rough hands on his hips and being fucked until it’s hard to breathe. He doesn’t know who he’s with, but he catches foggy glimpses of shaggy black hair and a strange, appraising smile.

When he wakes up, face down, sweating through his sheets and stiff as a board, he curses Yosaku and Johnny because they’re one-hundred percent fucking correct.

It _has_ been far too long.

 

* * *

 

Johnny and Yosaku are mysteriously absent when Zoro calls them early in the morning to go running. Almost like the pair of them turned their phones off to avoid more exercise. Zoro hopes they can at least sense how much he’s shaming them as he plugs himself into some music to start his run.

His frustration from the previous day hasn’t really gone away as he runs around the lake at the park. All the sights are so tiresomely familiar, the gazebo then the kids play park, then the place where the ground is covered in seeds from people feeling the ducks...

His frustration makes him break into a sprint, but he only succeeds in tiring himself out faster than usual. He brakes to a halt when he spots a familiar face enjoying the unseasonably warm day.

“Oh, Usopp!” Zoro shouts at the dark skinned man hiding behind a huge canvas. Usopp briefly looks up and waves his pencil at him. Zoro takes it as an invitation to come over.

Zoro grins and puts his hands on Usopp’s shoulders so that he can see what he’s drawing.

“Hey! You’re getting sweat on my drawing, you goddamn gorilla!” Usopp slaps him away and Zoro chuckles. The man’s attention to detail is always incredible; flocks of birds soar over the water, the windows of the skyscrapers surrounding the park glitter, the kids scattering pigeons have a real sense of movement to them. Not a single leaf on the ground or cloud in the sky is half-assed. Talking to Usopp when he’s locked in his own artist’s world usually gets him nowhere, so Zoro watches him work until he feels like acknowledging his presence. It’s always fascinating, and kind of adorable. Usopp has an extra pencil hanging between his full lips, forgotten in favour of the one he’s using. His brown eyes are laser-focused on the page and his curved brows furrowed in concentration.

Usopp is possibly the only friend Zoro has that he would consider taking things further with. His muscles are far too well-defined for his sedentary job (Zoro has no idea how he does it, he’s never seen the man at the gym) and his long nose only serves to make his profile that more interesting. Usopp’s never shown any interest though, and he’s fine being friends. Not like he has time anyway, he only sees Usopp on the odd days their schedules happen to intersect.

Usopp spends a few moments erasing and re-drawing the same dainty line until he’s satisfied and turns around to look at Zoro, leaning on the back of his portable chair. “I thought you weren’t supposed to stop? You’re always yelling about keeping your heart-rate up.”

“Yeah well, maybe I felt like stopping and talking to my good friend today?”

“Why does that sound a little suspect coming from you? _”_ Usopp says with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Zoro slumps down onto the grass and sighs. “I guess lately I’ve been wondering if there’s more to life than just exercising.”

“Who the hell are you, what have you done with Zoro?” Usopp says flatly.

“I’m serious.”

“Well if you’ve caught a brain-eating virus and want to socialize for once… I’m meeting a friend here for coffee in a few. Maybe you’d like to meet him?”

Zoro’s mouth turns down in a scowl.

“Not if he’s like that piss-haired douche you tried to get me to meet last time.”

“You’re not into blondes, I get it.” Usopp says with an eye-roll. “Sanji's not a bad guy, you just somehow picked the exact things to say that would piss him off the most.”  
“ _Not a bad guy?_ If I recall, his exact words were ‘Get the fuck out of my bar before I put your dick in a blender and make a weiner milkshake.’ He threw a plate at my head!”

Usopp gives him a tired look and raises an eyebrow.

“In his defence, you’re not the easiest guy to get along with sometimes.”

Zoro raises a finger and opens his mouth to argue before slowly lowering it again, devoid of a comeback. He watches people walking by the lakefront until he spots someone heading their way, and his heart does a funny little leap.

He’s wearing a sloppy black tank-top advertising a kickboxing club, shorts and sandals instead of thick layers of fireproof gear. But it’s definitely the same guy.

 _No, no way._ Zoro thinks as he approaches them, thinking it must be a coincidence, he must be just walking by and Usopp is waiting for someone else.

But, sure enough, Usopp lights up and waves him over.

“Hey, _Luffy_!” he calls.

The man waves and tears a bite off the slice of pizza he’s holding. He must have got it from one of those stand-up pizzerias because it’s the size of his head. Over his shoulder Zoro sees the rim of a straw hat bouncing against his shoulders, secured to his neck by a loop of string.

Zoro stares at him with his mouth open, and ‘Luffy’ recognizes him right back. He locks eyes with Zoro and dumps the rest of his pizza into Usopp’s hands without looking at him, ignoring his outraged ‘hey!”. He raises a finger at Zoro. “You’re…”

Usopp drops the pizza onto his unused paint palette and wipes his hands off on his dungaree legs. “Do you two _know_ each other?!”

“We… met a couple nights ago.” Zoro says slowly, unable to stop staring. “There was a fire. And clowns.”

“Oh, the clowns! Luffy told me about that!” Usopp says. “He said a cop tackled a clown so hard he went flying! I’m guessing that was you?”

“God, don’t remind me...” Zoro mutters. “I’m going to be getting clown jokes at the office for months now.”

Luffy barks out a series of rapid-fire chuckles, grinning widely. “Well, I thought you looked pretty cool! What’s your name?”

“Zoro, Roronoa Zoro.”  
“Olá, _Officer_.” Luffy leans forward with a smirk and offers his hand to shake, thankfully the one that isn’t covered in pepperoni grease. 

 _Oh, his hands are rough._ Zoro thinks idly, not able to resist running his thumb over Luffy’s strong fingers as they clasp hands. He blushes hard and hopes that the other man chalks it up to being hot from his run.

When Zoro glances back at Usopp, his eyebrows are raised and his arms are folded, as if to say _‘fucking really’?_

“So uh, you ready to go, Loof?” Usopp says.

“Actually, I asked Zoro to get ramen, if he’s still interested.”

Zoro is very much interested; he’s never wanted a stupid bowl of greasy soup more in his life.

“You’re blowing me off?” Usopp says with an injured tone creeping into his voice.

“You can come too, if you want.” Luffy says.

Zoro stabs Usopp with his eyes and gives him a tiny shake of his head.

“Uh, actually I had better get back to the studio. Strike while the inspiration is there.”

Usopp smiles in a carefree way at Luffy but looks daggers at Zoro. He puts his hands on Zoro’s shoulders with a false air of friendliness, as if he’s really thinking about strangling him.

“I owe you one.” Zoro whispers in his ear.

“You owe me several. Have fun fronting his bill you jerk,” then to Luffy, “See you at Club Peachy tonight Loof?”

“Yeah!”

They leave Usopp to pack up his canvas and Zoro starts to walk down the lakefront path with Luffy at his side. They haven’t gotten far when an angry cry reaches them. “LUFFY, PICK UP YOUR DAMN PIZZA!”  
Luffy runs back to Usopp and comes back with the slice shoved in his mouth like he’s a greedy seagull trying to swallow a fish whole.

“So, why did you ask me to get ramen that night?” Zoro says.

Luffy gulps the last of the greasy crust down and looks at him as if he’s the biggest moron on the planet. “Because it’s delicious, _duh_.”

“Yeah but, why me?”

Luffy lifts his shoulders in an ‘I dunno’ way. “I tend to follow my gut with these things. You looked cool and I was hungry. That’s it really.”

Luffy looks at Zoro’s chest and suddenly stops dead in his tracks.

“Uh, are you going out dressed like that?”

He points at Zoro’s slobby running shirt, soaked with so much sweat that his nipples are on show through the off-white fabric. Zoro self-consciously folds his arms over his chest and feels his face getting hot again.

“I uh, can go shower at my gym. If you don’t mind waiting, that is?”

“Sure, you better hurry up though, I’m starved!”

During the short walk to the gym, Zoro looks at Luffy’s body and wonders where the hell it all goes. His frame is all hard muscles and he doesn’t have an inch of body fat on him. The kickboxing club is one thing, but putting garbage food like pizza into his body is another. He finds himself staring a little too long at the edges of a cross-shaped scar peeking above the line of his shirt. Luffy grins lazily at him and Zoro wonders just what this bizarre man sees in him.

 

* * *

  
  


Soon Zoro is showered and fresh again, earrings hanging heavy in his ears back where they belong and wearing his black leather jacket and jeans. Luffy races ahead of him towards downtown and Zoro’s legs are almost too heavy from running to keep up with him.

He’s baffled as the man disappears into the crowd and he keeps walking, hoping that his shaggy black head will become visible again. He feels himself getting more and more unsure that he’s ever going to see Luffy again when a hand slips into his and yanks him back the way he came.

“This way, Zoro!”

Luffy tugs him down into a side-street, towards a tiny place set at the back of an alleyway.

“Hachi’s Ramen and street food?” Zoro reads on the glowing neon sign over the doorway.

“This place is the _best!”_ Luffy says, practically vibrating with excitement as he tugs Zoro through the curtain doorway.

They find a spare booth and Zoro watches a big man in the back make takoyaki, tirelessly pouring batter, flipping griddles and smearing the finished product with sauce and bonito flakes. It’s noisy and steamy, but also cosy somehow.

A pretty serving girl with hair the colour of sea kelp takes their orders and Luffy drums his chopsticks on the table, as if he’ll die if he doesn’t stop moving for even a second. He beams at Zoro and scratches his stubbly chin. 

“So, Usopp’s never told me about you. How did you meet him?” Luffy asks.

“It was a couple years ago,” Zoro says, “someone broke into his art gallery and wrecked the place, but he kept getting moved down the priority list. As soon as I had a gap I went to help him out.”

He grabs a pair of chopsticks and snaps them apart as he thinks back to that day.

When Usopp had made a shy second call to the office after waiting for hours. Zoro had blown off whatever irrelevant thing Smoker had been making him do and gone over himself. He had exchanged some colourful words with the man and been threatened with losing his job, but he wasn’t about to keep Usopp sobbing over torn paintings and shattered sculptures any longer.

“He gave me a painting when I caught the guys responsible, and we started hanging out after that. Not much else to say.”  
He doesn’t mention how when Usopp handed him the oil painting of the rainy Little Tokyo street he was so touched he promptly burst into tears. Luffy doesn’t need to know that.

He’s looking at Zoro with a kind of admiring look that makes his ears feel hot, but thankfully the waitress comes back with two steaming bowls, and Luffy dives in with a short cry of ‘Yum!’.

The speed at which Luffy eats his ramen both terrifies and impresses Zoro. He isn’t sure if he even chews his pulled pork before it goes down his gullet. He tries to match him bowl-for-bowl but gives up when Luffy stacks his third bowl on top of the others.

“How the hell can you eat more than me?” Zoro says as he leans back with a distended stomach. “I don’t eat that much even when I’m resistance training!”

“I haven’t had real world food in a while! We have to be on call for twenty-four hours straight, so no leaving the station. Also I carry people out of burning buildings for a living, I gotta keep my strength up.”

“That must be pretty rough. What do you do in your spare time?”

“Sleep mostly. I try to see my friends but our schedules hardly ever match up! What about you?”

That would explain why Usopp was so mad at him for stealing away Luffy’s attention. It’s hard to feel guilty though when this is the first thing halfway resembling a date he’s had in years.

He tries to think of a way to make himself sound more interesting than he feels. He struggles to think of a hobby that doesn’t involve exercise, or drinking.

“I like watching sports, working out, going for runs… My friends asked me to help them get ‘swole’ as they put it, so I’ve been training them.”

Luffy nods enthusiastically at him to show he’s still listening, even as he tips his bowl back to slurp down his broth. Trying to describe his life brings a sense of emptiness crashing through his chest; all he seems to care about is exercise and work.

“I don’t have many friends to be honest. And my family…” he clenches his jaw and stares hard at the wall.

“I don’t have any family left either.”

Luffy puts his empty bowl down and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. As Zoro’s looking off at nothing, lost sadly in his thoughts, the fabric of the booth next to him sinks down and Luffy slumps down next to him. He clasps Zoro’s hand between both of his and looks him deep in the eyes.

“Come out with us to Club Peachy tonight.”

“Huh?”

“It’s a favourite club of ours. I can’t believe Usopp never suggested it to you!”  
“I don’t dance. That’s probably why.”

Luffy blows out a long ‘pfffft’ that splatters his skin with spit. “You will! I’ll make you! You _have_ to dance with me! Please?”

Zoro thinks Luffy resembles a large, shaggy puppy dog as he stares at him with deep chocolate-brown eyes. As Luffy blinks expectantly, Zoro wonders if he’s trying to hypnotize him. Hell, with those eyes he could probably convince him to do anything.

“Okay.” Zoro says finally.

“Yessss!” Luffy punches the air, then pokes him in the arm and points to Zoro’s half-finished bowl of soggy noodles. “Hey, you gonna eat that?”

 

* * *

 

“Do you have a car? I wanna introduce you to a couple people before we go to the club.”

“Nah, I got a motorcycle though.”

Luffy lets out a long ‘oooooooh!’ as they hop on a bus back to Little Tokyo. Zoro’s building is a modern tower of glittering glass on the corner of the block that looks out of place amongst the grimy signs for laundromats and takeaway food. 

He leads Luffy down to the garage where his bike is waiting and digs out a spare helmet that rarely sees any use.

“Do you know how to get to Bell-mère Farm? It’s a little ways outside the city.” Luffy asks, while Zoro shoves a spare pair of biking leathers into his arms. He’s not having the man get on his bike wearing shorts. The sandals are bad enough.

“Nope, you’ll have to give me directions.”

 

Zoro enjoys Luffy’s arms around his waist a lot more than he likes attempting to navigate the looping highways with only a vague idea of where he’s going. Luffy’s muffled shouts in his ears, knocking on his helmet and tugging on his jacket only serve to confuse him more.

Soon Luffy gets him to pull over in a field overlooking All Blue City, where a few bored cows stop to look at them. Luffy pulls out his phone that has so many cracks in the screen Zoro wonders how it’s still functioning and summons a map.

“You’re such a dummy Zoro. I told you to get off at the last intersection.” Luffy says, as if Zoro could hear him over the roar of the highway, through his helmet.  
“I could hide your body in this field and no-one would know until I’m leaving the country.”

Zoro says, with a glare that could probably cut through bank vaults. Luffy simply stretches languidly and grins. It’s hard to not think about how good the guy looks in a biker jacket and leather pants.

“Yeah right!”

“I work in the homicide department, you think I don’t know how?”

“You’re creepy, Zoro.” Luffy chuckles.

Zoro swings his leg back over the bike and revs as if he’s going to drive off and leave Luffy to the mercy of the cows.

“Hey, wait I can’t run in these pants, Zoro!”

He chuckles darkly into his helmet as Luffy waddles over in the restrictive leather and thumps him on the shoulder as he climbs back on.

“Don’t scare me like that! I thought you were really going to drive off and leave me!”

“Who says I wasn’t?”

 

The sun is beginning its descent when they finally get to the little farm nestled in the armpit of nowhere. The wood and stone cottage is almost obscured completely by rows and rows of tangerine trees, ripe fruit nestled under the evergreen leaves.

He drives up the dirt track, and a figure with hair the same colour as the fruit on the trees steps out from the house. She puts her hands on her hips and glares at Luffy as he unhooks his arms from Zoro’s waist and clambers down from the bike.

“Luffy, you’re late! Did you get lost again?”

“No!” Luffy says, before jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. “Zoro did.” 

“Hey!” Zoro barks at him. “Your directions were garbage!”

“Oh boy, I really should have come to pick you up, shouldn’t I?”

Nami presses her fingers to her forehead and sighs. “I’m guessing you’re Zoro then?”

He nods as he takes off his helmet and places it on the seat. He shakes hands with her, noticing how chipped her nails are, stained yellow from tangerines.  
“How’s it going? That’s my girlfriend Vivi over there.”

A dark skinned young woman with a waterfall of blue hair steps out from behind the house, carrying a basket of tangerines. She waves at them gracefully before walking over.

“So, where’d you find this one?” Nami asks Luffy, prodding Zoro in the chest. As Vivi comes closer, Luffy snatches one of the fruits from the top of the pile and tosses it between his hands.

“At the clown arson thing. He’s a cop!”

“Oh hey, so was my mom.” Nami says.  
Zoro raises an eyebrow and suddenly a connection fires up in his brain.

“Wait, you’re Bell-mère’s kid? Everyone knows her, she was a hero!”

He vividly recalls the pictures of the hero cop given special placement at the station, her wild half-shaved maroon head in particular was hard to forget.

“Yeah.. everyone told me and my sister that. It didn’t make us feel any better when she died.”

Zoro runs a hand over the back of his neck and feels bad for bringing it up. He’s about to apologise when Nami punches Luffy in the arm and snatches the tangerine out of his flailing hands.

“Come on, it’s almost time for us to meet Usopp already.” she says as she walks back to the house.

“Ow…” Luffy whines like a dog that’s had its nose slapped. Zoro puts a hand on his shoulder and pats him reassuringly; Nami’s punch looked like it could break through stone.

 

They all pile into Nami’s pickup truck and she drives them back to the city. Usopp is tapping his foot outside the club when they arrive, wearing an oddly stylish ensemble with his dark green paperboy cap, pale green untucked shirt and bright yellow slacks.

Usopp raises an eyebrow as Zoro hops out the back but makes no comment on his presence. Nami stops to change her shoes and totters out of the car in bright red high-heels and a matching dress. Zoro has no idea how she can wear so much red without it clashing with her hair, but she somehow manages to pull it off. Meanwhile, Vivi is dressed in pale blue with only slightly more modest blue heels and a flowing white sailor-style dress. 

“You guys aren’t usually this late!” Usopp says as they start walking down the street towards the club.

“I believe we can thank Mr. Zoro for that.” Vivi says with a giggle.

“We were going to show these two numbnuts around the farm, but they got lost on the way, apparently.” Nami says.

Usopp snickers and nudges Zoro with a disgustingly smug look. “He went for a run once and ended up in a different park, in a different city, didn’t you Zoro?”

“Shut up, not true.” He pouts at them while they wait for him to say more. “...Alright fine, it’s true.”

The group shudders with politely-held snickers (except for Luffy, he barks like a circus seal) and Zoro frowns. “Is that guy coming, Sanjo or whatever his name is?”

“Nah, he’s been real boring ever since he broke up with his boyfriend.” Luffy says. “All he does is work all the time.”

Zoro awkwardly clears his throat, not wanting to have anything in common with that shitty cook. 

“Besides, he always says he doesn’t like dancing,” Luffy continues, “but I think he just isn’t comfortable goin’ to gay bars.”

“One of those self-hating gay guys, huh?” Zoro mutters.

Zoro diverts his attention towards the club they’re heading towards. The name ‘Club Peachy’ is written in flashing neon lights. Next to it is another neon sign in the shape of a peach, flashing between whole and having a bite taken out of it with a spurt of juice.

“Have you ever been here before?” Luffy asks.

Zoro shrugs. When he was younger, he probably visited every club in the city at least once. Getting far too drunk and making out with an indiscernible amount of random men. He can’t say he particularly misses those days. Too many days he woke up not even remembering saying hello to the person next to him.

“I’m gonna introduce you to a friend of ours, if he’s here.” Luffy says as they head inside.

“And _we_ are going to dance without getting hit on for once!” Vivi says, giggling as Nami takes her by the hand.

As soon as they enter the club, Zoro starts to question whether agreeing to this was a good idea. The music is pounding so loud he can feel the bass under his feet even in the lobby. They dump their coats with the taffeta-clad cloakroom attendant and he feels slightly naked without the heavy leather across his shoulders.

As they enter the club, Zoro has never seen so many strangely-dressed people gathered in one place in his life. While Nami and Vivi dive into the heaving mass of gyrating bodies, Zoro hangs back on the sidelines. Usopp starts doing a silly dance that doesn’t involve moving his feet and he elbows Zoro in the ribs. 

“C’mon dude!” he yells. “At least try moving a _little!”_

“I’m gonna need to be wasted before there’s any way you’re getting me to dance.” Zoro bellows back. 

“Okay!” Luffy yells and drags him by the hand through the throng of people towards the bar. The barman smiles at them wickedly. He’s taller than Zoro in his heels. His hair is a purple cloud with a little crown balanced on top. Luffy slides half-across the bar and grins as he bellows. “Hey Ivan!” 

“What’ll it be, straw-hat boy?”

“I NEED TO GET HIM REALLY DRUNK!” Luffy’s shout is so loud Zoro is sure the entire club heard it and his ears burn white-hot.

The barmaid flutters his thick black eyelashes and purses his matching purple lips.

“You must have quite the evening planned.” he says dryly. “Take it easy boys.”

Luffy grins and nods obliviously while Zoro buries his steaming face in his hands.

When the bar-queen puts their drinks in front of them (vodka and coke for Zoro, and some pink virgin fruit abomination for Luffy) he takes his glass and beats a hasty retreat over to some couches at the edge of the dance floor.

“Luffy.... Why did you say that out loud?”

Luffy laughs and stirs his drink. “What’s the problem?  You said you need to be drunk before you’ll dance, so I’m gonna get you drunk!”  
He wiggles his pineapple slice in Zoro’s face, before he shoves the whole thing in his mouth.

“Well I’m not speaking for everyone, but generally people want to get drunk to have sex.”

“Oh.” Luffy munches on the fruit, then it’s his turn to blush. “OH!”

He grins at Zoro apologetically, with the pineapple rind still in his mouth. “Sorry Zoro.”

Zoro rolls his eyes and sips his drink, lightly punching Luffy in the shoulder.

“Are ya drunk enough to dance yet?”

He’s not, but he figures by the time he is, he won’t be able to walk. “Yeah whatever, just hurry up before I change my mind.”

He feels like a dumbass moving his hips and random directions, even more so when Luffy moves his hips in feet in a samba like he’s been doing this his entire life. 

It’s, well, really fucking hot.

Luffy pulls Usopp over and they laugh as Usopp tries to teach them a few moves. Zoro’s just glad no-one seems to be paying attention to how bad he is at this. 

Zoro yelps with surprise as Luffy suddenly lunges at him and grabs his hands, trying his best to guide him to follow his energetic moves.  
“You’re so bad at this Zoro!" No-one's paying attention to how bad he is _except for Luffy_ that is. "Try moving like _this!_ ”

Luffy moves his feet so fast it’s hard to keep up, but suddenly he’s pressed close into Zoro’s front and grinning evilly. “You’re so boring.”

“Hey, s-shut up…”

It’s been so long since anyone was this physically affectionate with Zoro, he doesn’t know how to react to suddenly having a guy dangling off him, with a _very_ inviting smirk on his face. Luffy’s body pressed against his causes a cacophany of _Fuck I want you, please be mine_ rolling through him. Zoro doesn’t really think too hard about it, he just lets his face gently tilt to the side and down to kiss Luffy. The kiss is artless, he’s too caught up in the moment to really be coordinated, but Luffy tastes like sweet and bitter grapefruit juice and pineapple. Zoro only wants more. He feels Luffy make a surprised noise against his lips and looks shocked when he lightly pushes Zoro away. His cheeks are lightly touched with pink and he looks a little bewildered, like that was the last thing in the world he was expecting.

“Shit- was that not what you...?” Zoro mutters, hiding his rapidly superheating face in his hand. “Oh god... I’m so sorry!”

To his everlasting relief, Luffy chuckles and grins. “Não se preocupe, Zoro! Don’t worry about it. You wanna get some air?”  
“Yeah, please.”

“HEY BON-CHAN!” Luffy yells out, startling Zoro even over the thumping music. He surges across the dance floor towards the slender figure sitting at the bar in a black suit, who turns around to reveal a face covered in make-up and the collar of a bright lemon shirt peeking over his lapels. His face brightens into a huge grin as he sees Luffy running towards him and they crash together in a hug.

“My little Luffy! It’s been too long!”

Bon-Chan takes his scruffy face in his neatly manicured hands and pouts as he turns his head this way and the other, examining him with pouting lips. “You need a shave my dear.” 

Zoro hesitates at the sidelines, hoping the guy didn’t just see what an idiot Zoro just made of himself.

“This is Zoro! He’s a policeman!”

“Detective.” he corrects Luffy quickly, surprised as Bon-Chan leans forward to grasp his hand.

“Bentham, but please call me Bon-Chan, everyone does!”

“Zoro’s tired. Could you take care of him for a bit?”

“Of course, my dear.”

Zoro hadn’t even realised how hot and worn out he was getting as Bon-Chan leads him out towards a small courtyard garden. The pounding music was starting to make his head throb, while the only sounds out here are people in fishnets chatting over their cigarettes. Zoro can finally hear himself think and he follows Bon-Chan into a corner as he lights up a cigarette. He politely refuses when the man offers him one. 

“So, Luffy’s rounded up another stray?” Bon-Chan muses, gently touching Zoro’s cheek and running a finger through his earrings. “The last one he brought here ran out with his tail between his legs.”

“He wasn’t blonde by any chance?” Zoro says.  
“Yes, I believe Sanji was his name.”

_Knew it._

“He was only here ten minutes before he bolted. That boy has _issues.”_

“Hey uh Bon-Chan, do you know what kind of guy-” Zoro awkwardly runs a hand through his hair, “-if Luffy likes guys that is… What kind of guy he likes?” he finishes lamely. The way Bon-Chan smiles makes him almost certain he saw the idiotic drunken fumble he just made.

“He’s quite the charmer, isn’t he?”

They both look through the door where Luffy seems to have drawn in a crowd of people to dance with, all laughing happily together as if he’s a living magnet. Zoro narrows his eyes slightly, wondering how much competition he has.

“Oh, don’t look so serious, sweetie! I haven’t known him to really care much about dating and relationships but…” Bon-Chan takes a thoughtful drag on his cigarette. “I get the feeling he’s lonely. His job is tougher on him than he lets on.”

“What do you mean?” Zoro says. His eyes flick back and forth in thought as he recalls their first meeting, how odd he had found it to reach out to a total stranger on a work night.

“Long hours on call at the fire station, physically exhausting work… I know he doesn’t like anyone to worry about him, but maybe he _needs_ someone to worry about him. y’know?”

Bon-Chan pauses to laugh. “You should see his apartment.”

Zoro thinks he might have more in common with Luffy than he originally thought. While he’s parsing the man’s words, Luffy bursts back in with another drink for him. Luckily he seems to have forgotten about the kiss already.

“Zoro, you ready to come dance more?”

He shrugs a yes as Luffy slides the drink into his hand.

Bon-Chan purses his lips in suspicion as he looks at Luffy. “Are you trying to get this innocent man drunk?”

“Yeah! He says he only dances when he’s wasted. Come on!”  
Zoro half-waves a goodbye at Bon-Chan as he’s dragged back onto the dance floor again. Luffy’s energy is as bottomless as his stomach and Zoro gradually starts to lose steam. At some point he realises he’s gotten far too drunk and collapses against Luffy’s shoulder. His body seems to have waved a little white flag and Luffy helps him over to the couches.

He doesn’t realise how late it’s gotten as the club’s population filters out, leaving Vivi and Nami almost alone on the dance floor together. Nami’s arms around Vivi’s hips and dancing to a slow song, like a hypnotic trance.

Zoro yawns and smiles absently at whatever Luffy is saying. He vaguely hears something about going home but his legs have long since refused to obey him enough to stand up.

“Zoro come on, or does Luffy have to carry you?” Usopp says.

He raises his head slightly and pouts. “ _Maybe_ he does.”

With only a small ‘hup!’ he finds out firsthand just how strong Luffy is. Zoro isn’t exactly light with all the pounds of muscle he’s put on over the years, but Luffy puts him in a fireman lift like he’s nothing.

“Night Ivan!”Luffy shouts over Zoro’s rump.

The bar queen waves and raises his eyebrows at them as they leave.

 

Somehow he ends up back at his apartment building (the car ride is a bit of a blur) and Luffy helps him out the car.

“You can come get your bike back tomorrow, Zoro.” Nami calls.

“It was lovely meeting you!” Vivi calls. He gives them a thumbs up in response and weaves his way towards the lobby.

Luffy waves goodbye to them as Zoro tries to punch in the building code, his finger missing the buttons many, many times before he gets it right.

“You okay Zoro?”

“Says the guy who kept putting double vodkas in my hand.” he grumbles.

Luffy laughs prettily, a kind of ‘shishishi!’ noise as he puffs his breath between his teeth.

“Says the guy who drank them!”

Zoro smacks him weakly on the arm as he gets the door open and they stumble towards the elevator. 

 

They reach what he hopes is Zoro’s front door and he practically falls into his living room, diving towards the kotatsu without bothering to even take his boots off. Luffy stares around at his living room, taking note of Usopp’s painting displayed above the TV, then starts rummaging around in Zoro’s fridge. He finds a small package wedged at the back and Zoro smiles at the pure delight on his face as he opens it. “CAKE! Zoro do you mind if I-”

“Go ahead, I _hate_ chocolate.”

Luffy gasps and clutches the slices to his chest like a protective mother. “How can _anyone_ hate chocolate?!”

Zoro shrugs and turns on the kotatsu, sighing as heat starts to build up under the thick blanket.

“I cut sweets out of my diet when I started bodybuilding. Don’t miss ‘em.”

“So why do you have this?” Luffy waves the cake in Zoro’s face before taking a bite so catastrophically huge his cheeks start to resemble a hamster’s.

“It was my partner Tashigi's birthday. I ate a slice just to be polite and she ended up giving me some extra to take home… I haven't yet had the heart to tell her I can't stand the stuff, and we've been partners for four years now."

Luffy swallows his bear-sized bite, looking like it hurts him slightly in the process, then he dives under the blanket next to him and nudges his shoulder.

“You’re a nice guy, Zoro.”

“Oh… Thanks? I don’t get that very often.”

Zoro hides his blush under the blanket, while Luffy polishes off the rest of the cake, his scruffy face beaming in childlike glee. 

 _Guess I know the key to his heart._ Zoro thinks dreamily. Keeping his eyes open is a considerable effort at this point, but he doesn’t want the night to end just yet. He snuggles closer to Luffy and leans his head on his shoulder. The question on his lips slips out without him really wanting to say it. “Luffy… are you upset, that I kissed you?”  
Luffy thinks about it for a microsecond, before wiping a few crumbs off his chin. “Nah. You tasted like booze though. If you’re gonna do it again, just tell me me first next time! I can’t stand the taste of that stuff.”  
Zoro blushes even harder. _Next time, huh? Does he_ want _there to be a next time?_ Please _let there be a next time..._

The room is swirling around so Zoro closes his eyes, sliding down Luffy until he’s slumped under his arm. A hand runs through his hair and foreign words caress his ears as he drifts off.

  
  


* * *

 

“Zoro. Zoro. Hey, _Zoro._ ”

He lets out a long groan on waking, his temples pounding and an uncomfortable weight across his hips. Why is he under the kotatsu and not in bed?

A pair of bright brown puppy dog eyes are inches from his face and a finger taps his nose.

“Zooooooro.” Tap-tap “Hey.”

Zoro growls and slaps the finger away with as much force as he can muster, which right now isn’t a whole lot. “Stop it, you’re n’oying.”

The weight shifts and it occurs to him that Luffy is sitting on his hips. The thought would be exciting if he weren’t hungover and wishing for death.  
“You alright Zoro?” Luffy’s grin is audible in his voice.

“Yeah, I just… need water.”

“Didja get our numbers last night?”

His brain cells are too soaked with vodka for him to remember. His prolonged ‘uhhh’ causes Luffy to start digging around in his jean pockets, before squashing him as he reaches over to grab the jacket Zoro had tossed onto the floor at some point.

“What’s your pin?”

Zoro grumbles and squirms out from under Luffy’s body to grab his phone back. He doesn’t like anyone looking at it, since they usually ask him who the girl in his lock screen photo is. He enters the pin, Kuina’s birthday, and hands it back.

Luffy taps away, not seeming to care that he’s sprawled awkwardly over Zoro’s shoulders.

“There, now we won’t lose each other again!”

“Cool.” Zoro says, the light is too bright and he slumps an arm over his face. 

“Hey Zoro, I had fun yesterday. I’m gonna go now, but I want to see you again real soon. ‘Kay?”

Luffy prods him on the nose one more time before the weight shifts off him. Zoro wants to tell him all the things he was feeling last night, say he wants to see him again so badly it hurts. But Luffy is out the door by the time he manages to lift his head, and he falls back asleep soon after it clicks shut.

 

* * *

 

When he wakes up again, there’s a jug of water and a glass on the kotatsu and four new contacts in his phone. Bon-Chan pulling the duck face, Vivi and Nami (both seem to be using the same contact photo of them kissing, just cropped at different angles) and Luffy’s carefree grin.

He’s jolted out of his warm fuzzies when his phone buzzes in his hand.

“Zoro!” Tashigi’s voice says on the other end, worried and urgent. “Can you get to Angel Beach, in the next twenty minutes?”

“Why, what is it?” he mumbles as he downs a glass of water, almost in one gulp.

“I don’t really want to say over the phone...”  
“Shigs, tell me.”

“It’s bad. I’m at this penthouse and we’ve found three bodies. I think… I think it’s _him_ again.”

He sits bolt upright and puts his glass down. She doesn’t need to say the name. This is the entire reason he joined the service, the reason he busted his ass so hard to make detective. The man who leaves a trail of bodies in his wake, whom no-one has ever caught.

 

‘Hawk-Eye’ Mihawk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember kids (not that kids SHOULD be reading this but pft I can't stop you) don't smooch without permission! Consent is sexy! Don't be dumb like Zoro.


	2. Skin the Tiger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three men are dead, Tashigi and Zoro are hunting for the man who escaped the hawk’s talons, and they’re both about to make a terrible mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I got really nervous about posting this for various reasons, the story kind of took on a life of its own and I wondered if I was even really writing the same story as the first chapter, but I think it might be for the best. There's a lot of gore and violence, so please don't read on if you're not comfortable with that.  
> Enjoy the mood whiplash!

Zoro wonders why rich people only seem to decorate their houses with cream and white. Stains are a bitch to get out of a pure white surface. He figures either rich people don’t spill anything, or they just have the money to get a lot of surfaces dry-cleaned.

There’s no way any amount of dry-cleaning is going to wash out this mess however. The cream couch and gossamer curtains in the penthouse are covered in long splatters of blood, as well as the fluffy white throw-rugs and marble counter tops in the kitchen.

There are bullet holes in the sliding doors that lead to the balcony and rooftop pool, from which the forensics team are trying to drag a floating body. Shell casings are scattered on the hardwood floors.

Zoro’s stomach, already roiling with a pretty serious hangover, does a tumble as he looks at the bodies.

A big man lies on the floor in front of him and Tashigi. He looks pathetic in death, with his face squished into the floorboards and bloody spit dripping from his lips onto the floor. His greying lilac crown has a bloody gash across it.

“We got a name yet, Shigs?” Zoro says.

“Don Krieg. Gun smuggler,” Tashigi mutters, “he supplied half the gangs in the city.” She stands with her arms tightly folded as they stand by the door and observe, while forensics deal with the messy parts. The bright shirt covered in pineapples she’s wearing only accentuates the ashy tones of her skin. She manages to tear her eyes from the bodies long enough to side-eye Zoro’s own choice in clothing. He had left his apartment in a hurry, hoofing it to the bus stop after remembering he had left his bike at Vivi and Nami’s place, then dived into a coffee shop to blurt ‘DOUBLE ESPRESSO!’ at the poor barista on the way to Angel Beach.

As he sips his tongue-blisteringly bitter coffee, Tashigi leans down and tries to peek under the darkest sunglasses he could find.

“Are you hungover… on a Monday morning?” she says.  
“I met some new people, and we went to a club.”

“That’s not like you.”

Tashigi shakes her head at the low-hanging sweatpants he threw on in lieu of having any other clean clothes within grabbing distance.

“Have you fallen in with the wrong crowd?” she says, with a tiny smile.

“Mind your own business.”

Zoro turns his attention back to the crime scene, forensics have gotten the body out of the pool and there’s a huge gash across his face, throat and chest.

Blood doesn’t bother him, bodies don’t bother him. But the fact that he’s seen this kind of pattern before definitely does.

One of the bodies seems to have been taken down with a gun, but the other two look to have been done in by some kind of long knife or sword. Drug lords and weapons dealers usually want their targets dead as clean and fast as possible. Mihawk likes to play with his prey before it dies. Zoro shudders and puts his hand under his shirt to touch the scar that marks him from shoulder to hip. He wonders if the man even remembers.

“Where do you want to start, Shigs?”

“Let’s ask the neighbours. With a mess like this, someone will no doubt have heard something.”

 

They head downstairs to the apartment directly below. Tashigi knocks politely, and when that gets no response Zoro thumps on it heavily. The door slowly opens a crack and a grey-blue eye stares out at them.

“Hello sir, may we ask you a few questions?”

The man utters a deep sigh.

“What’s your name?” Zoro says, taking out his notepad and swapping his sunglasses for his reading ones.

“Zeff.” the man gruffs at them. His pale brows are scrunched down deep over his one visible eye and his long, braided moustache gives him the appearance of a grumpy flat-faced cat.

“Would you mind opening the door so we can talk?” Tashigi says.

Zeff opens the door another few inches and they can see that his other eye is terribly bruised, almost closed shut completely.

“It’s Krieg isn’t it?” Zeff grumbles. “That guy never was the greatest of neighbours. Used to throw parties that lasted all night.”

“How well did you know him?”

“Just in passing, I come up to complain about the noise and he laughs in my face, that’s as far as our rapport goes. I was dozing on the couch last night when this young’un comes down the fire escape and breaks into my apartment.”

“Can you describe this man?” Zoro says.

“About six foot, dark skin, short, brown hair. His clothes were all bloody an’ he was runnin’ like the devil himself was chasing him. Then I realised someone was being killed in that apartment. Screamin’ and crashin’, I heard gunshots too I think.”

“What did you do after that?”  
“I gave him a good piece of my mind, threw him out, locked my door up tight and called you guys. What else was there to do?”

Zoro scribbles furiously into his pad.

“Is there anything else you can tell us?”  
Zeff pauses, only a fraction of a second without breaking eye contact, but Zoro notices.

“No.”

“You may want to get that eye looked at sir, you could have a broken cheekbone.” Zoro points at his face with his pen, but Zeff simply chuffs and slams the door in their faces.

“Thank you for your help sir!” Tashigi says through the door.

“He hesitated, did you see that?” Zoro says quietly, slipping his pad back into his pocket.

Tashigi shoots him a curious look.

“You think he was lying?”

“Not lying exactly, but maybe not giving us the entire story.”

 

The building is fancy enough to have its own security room, and there’s a plentiful amount of camera screens to mull through. With the time frame given, they manage to catch glimpses of the dark-haired man escaping down the halls. But more importantly, the outside cameras caught a beat-up brown car driving away and they get a plate number. The footage is grainy but it’s enough to go on.

As they head back outside, forensics are placing numbered signs next to a trail of tyre-marks around where the car looks to have driven off from.  
Smoker is hovering nearby and walks over when he spots them.

“What have you got for me, kids?”

“We interviewed the neighbour,” Tashigi says. “We might have a witness.”

“Yeah,” Smoker says. “We thought that someone else might have been up there, we found an earring that didn’t belong to any of the bodies.”

He shows them the earring contained in a baggie, a round wooden bead like a fat red berry.

“We need to run a plate. Sir we think maybe… Mihawk might be behind this.” Tashigi says.

Smoker eyes her coldly and puts the bag back down..

“Don’t make assumptions. You do your investigation first. You know what happens when you assume? You make an ‘ass’ out of ‘u’ and ‘me’.”

Zoro rolls his eyes at the saying. He thinks that Mihawk is behind it too, and that the old fart has something to do with it, but he doesn’t voice his thoughts aloud. Damn Smoker repeats that ‘ASS’ saying so often, sometimes it’s better to stay quiet just so he doesn’t have to hear it again. Tashigi suppresses a groan as they head back to the car.

 

* * *

 

 

After running the plate through the system, they find that the car is registered to none other than Zeff, the man they had spoken to in the hallway.

“The witness could have stolen it.” Tashigi says.  
“No-one found any broken glass.” Zoro says. “I think he might have given him the keys.”

“You got that, just from a pause?”

Zoro sticks out his lower lip and shrugs, he leans back in his chair and folds his arms behind his head. Every part of his body clicks as he does so, he badly wants to go home and nap, but it’s not even mid-morning yet.

“Just though he was a little suspicious is all.”

Tashigi gives him a distracted smile, his powers of observation is possibly the only reason he’s still employed.

Tashigi puts out the information about the car they’re looking for, and they’re surprised when they get a possible sighting back before noon.

 

Tashigi drives them to a place called Shakky’s Ripoff Bar & Grill.

Zoro perks up slightly at the prospect and they head over. He’s thinking he can grab a hangover cure, since he’s feeling as productive as a particularly lethargic koala bear.

His eagerness soon dissipates as he remembers the last time he was here.

“You go on ahead,” Tashigi says as they pull up. Her phone has been ringing ceaselessly the entire drive. “Someone really wants to get a hold of me.”

Zoro sighs and trudges through the heavy oak doors. When Usopp had said he wanted Zoro to meet a friend of his, he had been expecting another quirky artist type. Not the blonde mop-head with a silver spoon lodged squarely up his ass.

He only prays the guy isn’t working today.

He wanders in and walks between saggy leather booths and mahogany tables and chairs. It’s the kind of place you can smell smoke and old beer long sunken into the floorboards, and you leave with the imprints of neon signs still in your eyes. He ignores the unfriendly looks as he walks in. Even though he and Tashigi wear their own clothes instead of a uniform, it’s still obvious from his badge and the holster of his gun peeking out from underneath his jacket what he is.

Zoro spots the blonde working behind the bar and his stomach sinks.

 _Just my luck._ Zoro thinks morosely.

His hungover brain is struggling to put a name to the guy, only that his last name was something French. His blonde hair is tied back in a tight ponytail, yet half of it is still falling over one side of his face and covering one eye completely. His dark goatee is neatly trimmed and his eyebrow looks like he gets it waxed, it’s even styled into a slight swirl at one end. He regards Zoro with a bright blue eye as he sits down, before ignoring him in favour of some guys at the other end of the bar.

Tashigi soon comes in behind him and pulls up a stool.

“Sorry Zoro, that took longer than I thought it would.”

She sits with her hands in her lap, staring hard at a beer mat. Zoro is about to ask her what’s wrong when the bar man hurries over and flashes a goonish grin at her. An unlit match is hanging between his teeth.

“Good afternoon miss! What can I get for you?”  
“Oh, a lime and soda please.”

“Certainly!”

“Give me a Prairie Oyster.” Zoro says. The barman’s demeanour changes as soon as he speaks and he gets a sharp glare.

“In a minute, fuckhead.”

He dithers over Tashigi’s drink, making sure the lime cordial and soda are perfectly mixed and slicing a fresh lime into translucent slices to put over the rim. He even adds a sprig of fresh mint over the top before placing it delicately in front of Tashigi.

“Here you are miss, sorry about the wait.”  
“So, can I order my drink now?” Zoro says irritably.

“Huh, what did you want again?”

The barman looks down his nose at him and Zoro huffs.

 _He_ definitely _remembers me,_ he thinks. Tashigi tosses out the sprig of mint before sipping on her drink.

“Have you two met before?” she says.

“No.” they both say in unison.

Zoro wasn’t sure quite what he had done to offend this man, the moment he had walked into the bar with Usopp, he had gotten this look like he had pissed in the guy’s cereal. It had gone swiftly downhill from there. Some people just weren’t meant to get along. That or Zoro is catastrophically rude without even realising it.

“A Prairie Oyster, please.” Zoro says, biting off the words.

The bar man puts a Prairie Oyster together and whips it over to him while barely looking, it almost slides off the bar before Zoro can lurch to grab it. While he’s looking at the egg yolk floating in the middle of the glass and summoning the courage to drink it, the barman leans over Tashigi and Zoro desperately wants to reach up and smack him.

“Would you like anything for lunch miss? I can show you the specials.”

“We’re on duty, jackass.” Zoro says, already drained from this man’s presence. “Here to ask you some questions.”

He takes out his notebook, wondering if even Tashigi’s presence will make this guy co-operate.

“Do you know if this car come by here late last night?” Tashigi says, showing him the picture of the car. “Maybe you saw a tall man with brown hair and dark skin? Might have been injured, with torn clothes.”

The man’s eye flicks over the photo, scanning the details before quickly handing it back.

“Nope.”

Zoro narrows his eyes, if the guy is lying, he has a hell of a poker face.

“Please excuse me miss,” he says to Tashigi. “I have some work to do and I don’t like the way your friend is looking at me.”

The man disappears off through the door to the kitchen with one more filthy look in Zoro’s direction and a flip of his hair. Probably off to berate some wait staff, knowing his type.

Zoro throws back the Oyster quickly with his nose pinched, so slimy egg, vodka and Worcestershire sauce don’t grace his palate for longer than necessary. Tashigi gives him a mildly disgusted look as he swallows it with a gasp.

He half turns on his bar stool to study the room while he taps his empty glass against the bar, since he knows he’s not getting any more service out of the bar-prick any time soon.

A group of men are sat around the biggest table drinks flowing freely and endless plates of food stacked up around them. The bar-prick brings even more out of the kitchen as Zoro watches, two in each hand and two more balanced on his elbows.

He sees a flash of red hair and white teeth as a man barks out a raucous laugh. He’s clearly the centre of attention, all the people at the table are listening intently as he tells some story.

A man with greying peppercorn-black hair has his muscular arm resting on the back of the man’s seat, a dark-skinned man with blonde-ish dreadlocks grins with his chin resting on his hand, the only one seemingly not paying attention is a rotund man who’s making short work of all the food being put in front of him.

Zoro puts down his glass with a small thunk and moves over to them.

The table goes dead quiet as he approaches and their heads turn to eye him suspiciously.

“Hey, you fellas mind if I ask you a few questions?” Zoro says.

“Yeah, we do.” Dreadlocks says, putting his feet up on the table. Zoro can feel a nasty headache starting to pinch behind his temples and he’s struggling to find it in him to be civil. He glares down at the men and his shoulders bunch up slightly.

“Did you all know three people have been murdered down the street? If any of you have seen anything…”

Red-haired chuckles with a lazy smile, then boots an empty chair towards him.

“Put your hackles down kid, why don’t you sit with us?”

Zoro squints at the chair suspiciously before slumping down. Being in the presence of these men makes him feel like he’s surrounded by a pack of wolves.

Red-hair waves a finger to beckon him closer.

“Just between you and me… I may have heard some raised voices last night, seen the bar-man driving a car that wasn’t his.”

“Do you know where he went with it?”

“No, but I would be careful. People ain’t that fond of cops around these parts, and you have a pretty memorable face.”

Red-hair gives him a dangerous look, accentuated by the deep scarring around his left eye.  
“Not very subtle is he, with that green hair?” The enormous man adds, tearing a huge chunk of meat from the kebab he’s holding. A few snickers make their way across the table. Zoro is scribbling into his pad when a shadow looms over him.

The bar-prick appears, looking down at Zoro with a look that could curdle milk.

“What, you’re bothering my customers now? Get out!”

Zoro pays the bill as fast as possible and heads for the door. Tashigi is gone from the bar, he figured she went to the bathroom, but instead he finds her in the alleyway. She’s nudging some trash aside with her foot and jumps when he comes up behind her.

“You having fun?” Zoro says.  
“Not really. I wondered if a car might have been parked here, but…”

They check the parking lot behind the bar briefly before they leave, but the brown car is nowhere to be seen.

 

As they head back to the car, Zoro is fuming that he let himself be intimidated, on top of being all but bum-rushed out the door by that stupid mophead.

He sighs heavily as he sinks into the passenger seat.

“Sorry I couldn’t have been more help back there, those guys were giving me the creeps.” Tashigi says. She still looks worried about something, but Zoro doesn’t want to press it.

He gets a call as she drives them back towards the station, almost making it to the intersection before traffic stops them. When Luffy’s carefree face pops up in the caller ID Zoro forgets all about the case and the shitty bar-man immediately.

“Luffy! What’s up?” he says.

“Nothin’, just wanted to make sure you were alive.”  
“Ha-ha.” Zoro says flatly. “I’m fine.”

“Didja pick up your bike from Nami and Vivi yet?”

“No. I’m a little swamped at the moment. I’m on a case.”

“You shoot anyone? Like a cowboy in those old westerns?” Luffy punctuates the point by making ‘pchoo-pchoo!’ noises.

“A cowboy huh?” Zoro huffs out a small laugh. “No, not much of that going on today.”

He puts his feet up on the dashboard and Tashigi immediately slaps at him until he puts them back down.

“I really want to see you again, Zoro.” Luffy says. Zoro swallows thickly, something about the way Luffy says his name puts fire in his belly. Even if the man didn’t mean it so, it sounds weighty and meaningful.

“I- I want to see you again too.”

Tashigi glances over at him with an eyebrow raised and he jolts, like he's been caught doing something wrong.  
“Uh-  but like I said, I’m working.”

“Right right, I’ll leave you alone. But you have to come out and dance with me some more!”

“Okay okay.”

“Take care of yourself Zoro. Later!”  
“See you…”

Tashigi gives him an irritating little smile as he hits the end call button.

“You’re smitten.”  
“Shut up! How do you know what I look like when I’m ‘smitten’?”

“I’ve never seen you make a face like that before, that’s how I know. He must be pretty special.”

“You’re telling me. I _hate_ dancing.”

 

* * *

 

 

Back at the station, the first thing Zoro does is reach for the aspirin he keeps stashed in his desk and dumps them into a cup of water. Smoker calls him over before they’re even done dissolving and he gets up with a groan.

“What you got?” Smoker says, barely looking up at him as he taps into his laptop.

“The guy at the bar might have something to do with it, but he’s not too friendly. We didn’t see the car, but it might have been moved.”

“So… you got nothing?”

“Not until we find the car, no.”

Smoker laces his hands together and takes a deep pull on his cigar. He looks at Zoro as if he wants something more out of him, but all he has is gut feeling and instinct to go on. He knows what he wants to say is going to cause an argument, but he can’t hold himself back anymore.

“You know who murdered those men, sir.”

Smoker rubs his eyes and growls.  
“Not this again.”

“Three years ago! It was the exact same thing.” Zoro says, he’s starting to lose his cool and his voice is getting louder. “We had more than enough evidence, hell Mihawk might as well have left a written confession. And you remember what happened?!”

“Roronoa…”

 _“_ I want you to tell me you’re going to help bring him down this time!”

Smoker gets to his feet heavily, as if he has lead weights tied to his belt, and walks around his desk. He has a good half a head over Zoro in height, which sometimes he forgets when he spends so long sat with his feet up on his desk. He gives Zoro the full staredown with his fierce brown eyes.

“I know, I was there. And I know _that-_ ” he waves his finger in the direction of the scarring where Mihawk had all but bisected him “-was painful for you. But you know what people are like. They’re dumb, scared animals and they’re not going to testify against him. Even if you find this witness, you can’t force him to speak up in a courtroom.”

Smoker goes to slump back into his chair and Zoro swipes a hand through his hair angrily.

“You better keep your head low. If Sakazuki hears any of this, he’ll take you off the investigation. You’re dismissed.”

Zoro gives him a withering look, he already has his hand on the doorknob.

“Grow a backbone _sir.”_ he throws over his shoulder, before shoving the door open and slamming it behind him.

  
The thought of turning in his badge rushes into his head, not for the first time. The longing to just tell Smoker to shove the job - _and_ his disgusting cigars that make smoke cling to Zoro’s clothes all day - is stronger than it’s ever been.

He storms down the halls in a blind anger and doesn’t pay attention to who’s in his way.

Tashigi must have been listening to them as she appears in his path, just in time to get biffed across the shoulder so hard her glasses fly off.

“ _Zoro_!” She bends down to pick them up and scowls at him. “How many times?!”

“Uh, three?”

Even the thick plastic frames are no match for the combined efforts of her clumsiness and Zoro’s occasional lack of spatial awareness. One of the lenses pop out as she puts them back on her face. He swipes a hand through his hair and puts on his best apologetic face.

“Maybe four? I’m sorry... I’ll buy you a new pair.”

“That’s okay. I’ve got a few spares in my desk.”

She always wears the same plastic red frames, so similar that he never really notices when she changes them. Then again, she breaks them too often to try any different styles.

“I heard you arguing in there.”

Zoro breathes in deep, trying to will away the hot flush of anger in his face. They start walking towards the canteen.

“Don’t be mad at Smoker, he’s only watching out for you. He cares more than you think.”

He snorts at that.

“Why do I find that hard to believe?”

Tashigi starts speaking Japanese as they walk into the canteen, so they can talk without being overheard. It’s a useful skill to share with a partner, but it takes his brain a few seconds to adjust.

“I think we should be really careful of who we talk to from now on, Zoro. I think Hawk-Eye might have someone high-up in the chain of command paid off.” She’s careful to use Mihawk’s street name, just in case any curious ears are listening.

Zoro nods, they both know Chief Sakazuki is as straight as a dog’s hind leg. It makes him wonder how many other people who he sees every day could secretly be reporting to Mihawk. He glances quickly around the room, Coby is asleep with his head on a textbook and his blonde friend is picking his nose nearby. He locks eyes with Lieutenant Rosinante who is lazing and picking his teeth a few tables over. He flicks out what appears to be a sesame seed and winks at him.

“I think you might be right.”

They find a table and Zoro slumps down heavily.

“I can’t help but feel like this is all for nothing.” he says. “Maybe Smoker’s right, and we shouldn’t even try.”

“We’ve only just started, don’t look so glum!” Tashigi nudges him with a smile, her dark eyes sparrow-bright and full of confidence. To think he almost refused to work with her at first. “The trail’s not gone cold yet.”

 

* * *

 

 

The sky is deepening to a burnt orange when Zoro steps out through the precinct doors to head for home. His eyes feel sunken and he yawns as wide as a cat. It’s been a long, disappointing day.

He wonders idly if he can get out to the farm before the sun sets to retrieve his bike. Getting around via bus is a pain.

“Hello Mr Roronoa.” a flat, voice says. The man it belongs to steps out of the shadows of the building, he has a serious face hidden behind black sunglasses. Zoro recognises him as Vergo, someone higher up in the food chain, a captain maybe.

His tall, muscular frame and severely shaved dark head are offset by the fact that he has what appears to be bits of pizza bagel stuck in his beard. The woman at his side has dark green hair neatly tied back and she wears a pair of thick spectacles, the gold-green colour of her eyes almost hidden under them. She’s another captain, or maybe a lieutenant. Monet.

Zoro’s eyes flick between the two.

“Hey... What do you want?”

“We think it would be in your best interests if you dropped the Don Krieg case.” Vergo says. “We can offer you a generous pay rise.”

“Not interested.”

He shoves his hands in his pockets and tries to walk away, but Monet gets in his path and shoves a picture in his face.

“That’s you and Koushiro Ishizuka isn’t it?” she says, “Head of the Isshin crime group.”

Zoro pales at the image of his foster-father and his younger self. He has the same picture on his bookshelf at home.

“How did you-”

Zoro takes a deep breath through his nose and exhales out of his mouth, trying to keep his cool.

“He disbanded the Isshin group a long time ago, everyone knows who he was.”

“Still, it wouldn’t be good for you if this started circulating, would it?” Monet says sweetly.

“I told you I’m not interested, do whatever the hell you want.” he says through gritted teeth. He bulls past Monet, but he can feel their eyes on him long after he walks away.

 

* * *

 

 

Zoro wakes the next morning to the blare of the door buzzer before his alarm goes off for work. He can see Tashigi on the small video screen tapping the button over and over again, like he didn’t hear her the first time.

She makes it up to his high-rise in record time and bangs on the door, and almost punching him in the chest when he opens the door for her.

“Someone found the car!” she says. Her eyes are shadowed like she hasn’t slept all night, which is probably the case.

Zoro lets her in, his hair uncombed, unshaven and only wearing boxers.

“Really?” he croaks.

“Yeah! And you know what I found out? Zeff is the adopted father of the bar-man, Sanji. We’ve nailed him!”

“This is great Shigs, but can I get dressed first?”

He rubs his bare upper arm awkwardly.

“Oh, of course, but hurry up! I’ve got the guy’s address.”  
He takes the fastest shower of his life and pulls on a sweater and dark jeans, barely having time to grab a roll for breakfast and put his jacket on before Tashigi yanks him out the door.

 

The address leads them to a flashy district in the centre of town by the wide sweep of the river. Apartment buildings a similar calibre to the ones by the ocean loom over them.

Zoro thumps at the door briefly and listens for movement inside, but hears nothing. He looks at Tashigi.

“Are we actually going to break in? We don’t have a warrant.”  
“No we don’t, but we have a good lead that a shady barman has something to do with the murders, and if he has the witness in there, we don’t want him running away.” Tashigi says, a sly smile touching her lips. She pulls out a lockpicking kit and makes short work of the door.

The apartment is dark, and Zoro absently touches the gun at his side. He doesn’t like drawing it, but something is turning up his danger-sense.

The apartment is a little too fancy for someone working a shitty bar job, a big flat screen TV is at the centre of the living room, surrounded by a black leather three-piece suit. The kitchen is decked out like it belongs to a celebrity chef, all glittering silver utensils and fine china. A big pot of something is steaming away, but the chef is clearly not around. Zoro jerks at a clatter behind him and whirls around. Tashigi almost knocked a picture off the bar-prick’s bookshelf and she flails to catch it in time.

“Sorry!” she whispers, and sets it straight. The picture is of the bar-prick and Zeff together. They’re both wearing chef’s whites and grinning ear-to-ear.

The bedroom door at the end of the hallway is closed and Zoro heads towards it slowly. He puts a hand on the door and pushes it inward slowly, so it doesn’t creak.

There’s a man asleep on the bed, _dead_ -asleep judging by the snoring.

He matches Zeff’s description, tall with dark skin and brown hair. He’s wearing oddly matched clothes, a bright blue shirt and lemon-yellow slacks, the earring he’s missing looks to have been torn out of his earlobe and his face is gaunt.

Zoro prods his foot and reaches for his cuffs.

As the man wakes up, he stares in loose-lipped fear for a few seconds. Then he bolts for the door, shoving past Zoro with the strength only a cornered animal is capable of.

“SHIGS! DON’T LET HIM OUT!”

Tashigi grabs him by the shoulder and they whirl in a mad ballroom dance before she manages to drag him to the floor. Zoro crosses the hallway quickly and cuffs him.

“We aren’t going to hurt you!” Tashigi says, as Zoro pulls the man to his feet.

“We need you to tell us what happened two nights ago.”

“No fucking way! Let me go!”

Zoro urges him towards the kitchen and makes him sit at the table.

“Please, we can give you special protection from the person you’re scared of.” Tashigi says.

The man scowls at them.  
“No, you _can’t_.” he says, like he’s talking to a child.

“Can you at least give us your name?”

The man is silent and Zoro can faintly see his hands shaking.

Soon they hear rustling and footsteps coming from the outside hallway. Zoro moves to hide behind the front door while Tashigi waits in the kitchen.

The prick from the bar shuffles in with his arms laden with bags of shopping.

“Hey Gin, I got you a…”

Zoro hears the bags hitting the floor when he walks into the kitchen and Zoro moves to block the door, just in case he decides to try and bolt too.

“Oh… it’s you, miss.”

He turns around and when he sees Zoro, his face falls and his shoulders slump.

“Oh _great.”_

“You have a lot of explaining to do.” Zoro says, folding his arms and nodding towards the kitchen table. “Sit down.”  
The bar-man pauses to light up a cigarette and blows smoke in his face. Regular cigarettes smell even worse than Smoker’s cigars and Zoro suppresses a cough. He takes his time mooching over to the chair next to Gin and slowly sinks down, resting one leg over the other.

Tashigi sits down opposite them, while Zoro stays standing.

“Please tell us everything you can.” she says, her hands folded in front of her.

“He doesn’t have to tell you anything.” the bar-man says, not even having it in him to be lecherous in Tashigi’s presence this time.

Gin’s face slowly crumples, it’s apparent that he’s exhausted. Tears trickle down over eye bags so deep they look swollen and hands with battered knuckles swipe snot from his nose.

“I’m sorry Sanji,” he mutters “we can’t do this forever. You know that.”

Gin takes a hitching breath and closes his eyes.

“I’m- I mean I _was_ Don Krieg’s right hand man.

“Krieg ran guns through the city and in return, Mihawk kept the feds from sniffing around. Krieg eventually got sick of it, wanted more money, so he tried to cut Mihawk out of the deal. You can imagine how that went. The boss was never the sharpest crayon in the box.

“I was there when he started killing everyone. I knew that things were going south before anyone started shooting, so I slipped down the fire exit and escaped through that old timer’s apartment. He recognised me and told me to hit him, so it would look like I forced my way through. He told me to come to Sanji.”

He glances up at the blonde quickly before dissolving into another wave of tears. His shoulders slump and his lip quivers.

“Oh god… Mihawk is gonna cut me into pieces.”

“We’re going to take you into protective custody.” Tashigi says. “Try not to worry.”

“You lied to me then.” Zoro says to the bar-prick. “I should have you arrested for obstruction of justice.”

“Of _course_ I lied!” he spits back, getting to his feet and pressing his face so close to Zoro’s that he can feel the heat of his cigarette on his skin. “You cops are all the same, you’re never there when people need you the most!”

His face is twisted in a snarl, full of venom, but also kind of wounded in the way his brow tilts. It makes Zoro wonder just who the hell hurt this guy. Bar-prick turns to Tashigi, his mood changing again from snarling German shepherd to guilty puppy dog.

“Um, no offence miss.”

She simply squints at him and pushes her glasses up her nose.

 

* * *

 

 

They head back out to the tight alleyway where they parked, Tashigi holding Gin and Zoro stuck with Sanji barking in his ear all the way down to the alley.

“Are you seriously saying you can keep him safe? How do I know you’re not going to throw him to the wolves?”

“We have special protocol for these things, now will you please step back? You’re getting smoke in my eyes!”  
“So sorry, _officer.”_

He tosses his cigarette butt onto the toe of Zoro’s boot and moves away.

Tashigi is opening the back door of the car and uncuffing Gin to let him in, when a silver car blocks the exit ahead of them. Tashigi waves to get their attention.

“Oh. Excuse me! We need to get out that way…” she calls.

Gin stares at the oncoming car with growing terror as it stops in front of them,

“Oh shit…” he whimpers, tugging his hands through his hair. “Oh shit, oh shit oh _shit!”_

Monet and Vergo step out of the car.

“Good work officers! We’ll take him from here.”

Zoro steps in front of Gin and glares at them.

“Y _ou._ How did you know we found him?”

Monet’s long-lashed eyes narrow, just slightly, her smile gets wider.

“Move aside.” Vergo says flatly. “And no-one has to get hurt.”

Zoro lowers his head and stays put, he can feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

Monet and Vergo pull their guns.

Zoro barrels into Gin and pulls him behind their car as bullets rattle against the metal and shatter the windows. Tashigi dives down alongside them and loads her gun with shaking hands, he’s never seen her fire the thing apart from at the shooting range.

Out of the corner of his eye he can see Sanji waiting in the doorway as if he wants to run and help, only to be stopped short by a bullet that glances off the door frame.

“STAY BACK!” Zoro yells at him. He draws his own gun and takes a couple of shots from over the car’s trunk. He almost catches Monet before she dives behind the safety of a dumpster and his bullets ricochet off the metal. Tashigi leans over the hood to fire and gets a bullet to the centre of her bulletproof vest, her glasses fly off as she hits the ground and a thin trickle of blood seeps out from under her hair.

Zoro has no idea if she’s alright or not, but he’s howling with anger as he fires his gun at Vergo. The big man’s expression never changes as he waits until Zoro’s fired off the magazine, then puts a bullet through Zoro’s upper arm.

Monet blind-sides him from the opposite direction and puts another bullet in his hip. Now he’s on the floor too and staring hopelessly at Tashigi’s unconscious face.

Vergo looms over him and brings his foot down hard on his forearm to make him drop the gun. He screams as the bone crunches under Vergo’s boot, and again as he stomps down a second time on his elbow.  
“Enough of this! We got him, let’s go!” Monet says, as she twists Gin’s arm behind his back and drags the whimpering man towards their car.

“We can’t have any loose ends. Or witnesses.” Vergo says. He raises his gun and aims at the bar-man, still watching petrified from the doorway.

Zoro has always considered his personal safety a low priority, it has to be in his line of work. It’s instinct to get up and dive in front of Vergo’s gun, to take a third bullet for a man that hates his guts, and who Zoro hates in equal measure.

“Get the fuck out of here... you dumbass!” Zoro pants up at him as he presses a hand over where blood is spreading over his shoulder.

Sanji finally turns and runs off down the street. Monet shoves Gin into the silver car and honks angrily at Vergo. The man is staring down at Zoro, but all he can see is his bloody and battered reflection reflected in his sunglasses. He’s going to die, he’s sure of it.

“You’re coming with us. I think Mihawk would like a word with you. ”

 

 

* * *

 

Zoro passes in and out of consciousness during the drive. Vergo had thrown him over the backseat, but Monet’s erratic driving causes him to fall into the footwell and he’s in too much pain to right himself. His clothes and the leather seats are covered in his blood and they’re driving fast over uneven road. Every small jolt sends hot needles of pain shooting down his arm until he’s dizzy and wants to vomit. Gin is hunched at the window, alternating between staring dead-eyed out the window and glancing nervously at Zoro bleeding out on the floor.

“You should have aimed for the head.” Vergo says from the passenger seat. “If she goes crying to Smoker, our cover will be blown.”

“Two officers and a civilian shot dead in broad daylight?” Monet snaps back, the car weaving on the road a little as she turns her head angrily. “Mihawk would have our heads for something so stupid!”.  
“He might just have them anyway.” Vergo turns around to stare impassively down at Zoro.

“Our friend is bleeding all over your upholstery. Does blood wash out of leather?”  
“I’ll have to scrap it anyway, can you fucking focus for once?!”

Beads of sweat start running down Zoro’s face. He considers opening the door and jumping out, but even if he could reach up to the door handle, he’s sure they’ve locked it. He can’t imagine how painful it would be to jump out of a moving vehicle in the state he’s in.

Monet slams on the brakes and sends a bolt of pain up his shoulder as he’s jarred again. This time he really does vomit, right into Monet’s cup holder.

The pair get out and Zoro feels the door he’s leaning against open suddenly, a hand grabs him by the collar and he’s dragged out and dumped onto hard concrete. He weakly pulls himself up onto his elbow to get a better look around.

They’re at the docks, a long stretch of deserted wharf that stretches a good couple miles in either direction. Even though it’s the middle of the day, it’s completely deserted. The warehouses lining the cobbled path towards the docks loom over them and the sky looks like a pile of wet towels.

“We brought him like you said sir.” Monet says, she pulled the terrified Gin out of the car.  
“Don’t- Don’t fucking hurt him!” Zoro snarls. Whatever Gin did in the past, he deserves better than dying at the hands of a pack of butchers. Vergo gives him a backhand that sends his head flying down towards the concrete. All he can do is lay and groan, he’s never been in so much pain in his life.

“Now now, there’s no need to be uncivilised about this.” A low, cultured voice says. Zoro lifts his face from the road to see a polished pair of boots striding towards him.

‘Hawk-Eye’ Mihawk wears a red-lined black suit, his black hair is streaked with grey and slicked back. His goatee and thin moustache are neatly trimmed like the age-old depiction of the devil in human form. No-one has eyes the same shade of amber-gold as Mihawk, or features so elegantly cruel. His nose is slightly curved downwards like a bird’s beak and his face is strangely young, despite how he must be nearing his fifties.

“Mihawk.” Zoro growls. Whenever he imagined meeting the man again, he hoped it would be with him in cuffs.

“Roronoa Zoro.” Mihawk says evenly. The man never seems to blink, or change his expression. If he’s bothered by the blood and vomit down Zoro’s front, he doesn’t show it. “It’s been a while.”

“Sir, the witness?” Monet says.

“Put him in my car, I will deal with him later.”

Monet and Vergo drag the whimpering Gin into the trunk of a black SUV.

“The warnings I sent you fell on deaf ears it seems.”

He turns and stares out at the grey water, and Zoro can see the gold hilt of the black blade at his hip.

“Yet, I can’t help but admire your persistence. You nearly had me last time, you know. I was a little sloppy.”

“You really thought bribing me would work?”

Mihawk almost smiles.

“No, I suppose not. I had half a mind to try and recruit you, but that would have been churlish of me considering our… history.”

Zoro glances at Mihawk’s hip, remembers the black blade slicing down through his chest, metal grinding against his ribs and hip-bone. Mihawk thumbs the blade out of its sheath and glares down at him.

“I apologise for the way you’ve been treated, Roronoa. But I’m going to have to ask you one last time. Stop your investigation, there’s no way it will end well for you.”

“ _Fuck you_.”

He doesn’t care anymore, everything hurts too much and Gin is going to die. He’s failed.

Mihawk sighs and slowly unsheathes his sword. He puts his feet either side of Zoro’s head and presses the tip of the blade to the skin above his left brow, slowly increasing the pressure until a tiny drop of blood wells up.

“I would rather not kill you, but maybe I should make an example of you.”

Zoro tries to squirm away from the stinging pressure, but he’s lost too much blood, he feels like a rabbit in a snare, weakly kicking and waiting for death.

“If you struggle, this will take even longer.”

Slowly, slowly he drags the knife down into Zoro’s brow, increasing the pressure as he goes. It’s all too obvious to him where this is going.

“No!” the word comes out as a pitiful, animal whine. Mihawk doesn’t speed up, or deviate from the perfect line of pain he’s drawing down Zoro’s face. He tells himself he’s not going to scream, but then the blade reaches the tender flesh of his eyelid.

He screams. He screams to wake the fucking dead.

It’s the only respite he has as blood and pain explode across his vision, the only way he can even attempt to escape what’s happening.

Even after he’s destroyed his eye, Mihawk keeps going and finishes his line by slicing down into Zoro’s cheek.

When he finally takes the blade away, Zoro is on the verge of passing out, with his skin cold and sweat soaking his clothes.

The Hawk-eyed man’s expression doesn’t change as he steps back and admires his work, like an artist stepping away from a canvas.

“You’ll be going into shock soon.”

Mihawk’s boots click away, then pause.

“You’re a brave man Roronoa, but bravery and stupidity often seem to overlap. Goodbye.”

 

* * *

 

 

It’s cold. It’s cold and everything tastes of iron, the sky is dark and spots of rain trickle cold into the open wound on his face.

Something is buzzing in his pocket. His phone.

It takes him a while to grab it with numb fingers and swipe a thumb over the slick surface. It takes him a few tries before the worried voice comes through on the other end.

“Zoro? Where are you?"

Tashigi.

He tries to speak, but all that comes out is a whimper.

"Zoro, if you're there  _please_ say something!"

“...Shigs,” he mutters. “You’re okay?”

“I’m fine, where are you?! Are you hurt?”

“Shigs, I have something I need to tell you.” he croaks, pausing to cough. “I lied about something.”

“Keep talking to me, you have to stay awake. Can you see any landmarks that can help us find you?”

He gets the urge to laugh, but doesn’t have the energy.

“Docks.”

“Okay, the docks. Anything else?”

“You remember your birthday, a few weeks ago? You brought in that giant cake for everyone…”

“My birthd- Zoro, try to focus! What else can you see?”

“I lied to you Tashigi. I’m sorry but-” he pauses to breathe raggedly into the receiver. Everything is starting to spin and fall away.

“-I _hate_ chocolate cake.”

The phone slips out of his hand and skitters across the floor as he collapses. Tashigi’s words echo to him as if he’s slowly drifting underwater.

“Zoro, stay with me! Hello? Zoro...”

 

* * *

 

 

_Red and blue, white, then black._

 

_Police lights, bright camera flashes, blood, white sheets._

 

_Ambulance lights, navy blue EMT uniforms, torchlight._

 

_Red, blue, red, white, black._

 

_One eye rolls in its socket, trying to find a tether in the light and noise, something to hold onto._

 

_Tashigi’s glasses; red_

_Smoker’s face; white._

_A camera flash in his face; white._

 

_The pull of unconsciousness;_

 

_Black._

 

 

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t… don’t kill me for this please. ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)  
> (shoutout to LoganG for helping me with the police procedural stuff you're great ty)


	3. Bodyguard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PTSD is a hell of a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which I remember that this is supposed to be a ZoLu fic. OoooooOooh, self-burn. This came together quickly because 2 & 3 were originally one doc, so the next one might take a little longer.  
> Content warnings for panic attacks, vomiting, depression and some medical stuff.  
> Also smut, because it’s my birthday and I will be as self-indulgent as I want.
> 
> (I don’t own the rights to Frankenstein, please don’t sue me Mary Shelley)

_It’s cold, and everything is dark._

_Black turns to grey._

_Soft white lights, blinking machinery._

_Sounds fold between the colours; nearby rustling of fabric, footsteps, and the god-awful beep of a heart rate monitor._

_There’s a doctor looming over him, a tanned face with pale patches of Vitiligo, black hair and hooded eyes._

_Zoro’s first thought is of the doctor in the Frankenstein story, the creature lying on the slab might have experienced this same view._

_“Lie still, you’ve just come out of surgery.” Victor Frankenstein says._

_Zoro starts to violently tremble and cough like a dying man, he couldn’t do anything else if he tried._

_He lies still, and wonder how it’s possible to feel this cold._

 

* * *

 

 

Time moves by at strange intervals.

Awake, then not. Half-awake, then half-not. 

The first time he’s even close to fully conscious, he’s in a hospital bed and Tashigi is standing by the window. It’s daytime, but the light is muted and Zoro hears the hiss of a distant rain storm.

“I thought you were dead, when I found you.” she says.

She has her back to him and her head is bandaged. Her glasses have been broken again and masses of sticky-tape hold them together.

She turns to him with tears in her eyes.

“God Zoro, after all we’ve been through… I thought I was going to find you dead, and the last conversation we have is about _chocolate cake?!”_

He gazes at her silently. He can’t talk with tubes up his nose and down his throat… as well as other places. Needles in the veins of his arm make him wary of moving even a little bit.

She swipes tears off her face.

“When we first met, you said I looked like your sister. I thought you hated me. But… it’s funny. You’ve almost become like a brother to me. Maybe it’s coincidence, or maybe it’s fate...”

Tashigi slumps her face into the covers at his side and he moves his hand towards her. It’s all he can do just to bump his fingers against hers.

 _I’m sorry,_ he thinks.

* * *

 

He hears news reports through the fog that he can’t help but listen to.

“Detective Roronoa Zoro, 28, originally from Hokkaido in Japan, was found at shot, beaten and mutilated near the docks at Mock Town.”  
Mutilated. The word lingers in his mind, and from it spring a few more; marked forever, ruined, spoiled. _Made an example of._

He catches a glimpse of himself as he lay dying on the wharf, every fucking reporter in the city swarming over his pale body as they load him into an ambulance. Tashigi, thank god, was trying to body-block them, even though she was still bruised and cut up from the fight in the alleyway.

Sometimes he wonders if anyone’s come this close to seeing their own dead body.

When he finally wakes from the cycle of troubled sleep and brief awakenings, he realises that there are a lot of people in the room with him. Smoker sits with his nose in a report book, his face looking strangely drawn without the usual cigar clamped between his teeth. Yosaku sits on a small couch by the window with Johnny asleep on his shoulder. 

While Zoro is thinking about how to get someone’s attention, the memories come back to him, unbidden and vivid. He wants to cry out, but with his nose full of tubes he only manages a choked whine. Vergo breaking his arm with a sickening crunch, gasping for breath and bleeding across leather seats, Mihawk…. _Mihawk._

Doctors soon pour into the room and shoo out the other men.

Smoker locks eyes with him as he leaves, then quickly away. Zoro figures he must look quite a sad sight if even Smoker, who has seen so much shit in his long career, can hardly stand to look at him. The nurses start the torturous process of getting the feeding tube out of his throat, which leaves him sweating and shaking.

The head doctor is vaguely familiar, Victor Frankenstein. Or Trafalgar Law according to his name tag. He’s just as scary in the daylight, as he flicks his gunmetal-grey eyes down to Zoro and looks at him like he’s something growing in a petri dish.

“How are you feeling?”  
“...How do you think…? Jackass...” Zoro rasps. His throat feels like someone’s been pouring rock salt down it and speaking is exhausting.

If Dr Law is annoyed at him, it’s indistinguishable from his resting face.

“I mean that in a practical sense, I’m not asking your emotional state. If you’re bleeding to death, I’d prefer it if you told me.”

 _Don’t they teach bedside manner these days?_ Zoro thinks.

Law slaps a young male nurse lightly over the head with his clipboard. His brown eyes widen with indignation and he clutches his mousy-brown head.

“Go and check the patient.”

The nurse comes over and Zoro cringes at his touch, gentle though it is. He shines a torch in his eye and checks his blood pressure. The doctors chatter back and forth in an alien language as they check him over, then give him water, half of which he splutters all down the front of his gown.

Doctor Law describes his injuries with the flat tone of someone reading an instruction manual.

Broken arm, shattered elbow, three gunshot wounds, and of course…

“Your eye was too badly damaged, we had to remove it.”

Zoro reaches up to touch at the thick gauze covering where his eye used to be. He has to try and stop his face from crumpling, he’s never needed to cry more in his entire life but he can’t, not in this room full of people.

The young nurse twists his hands together and his pale brows lift in concern.

“Is there anyone you’d like us to call? You didn’t have an emergency contact listed anywhere.”

Practically all the friends he has in the world are already here, he glances over to see Smoker and Johnny hovering by the door. 

Yosaku steps in and puts Zoro’s cell phone in his hand, which is smeared with so much blood he’s surprised it still switches on. A fresh crack down the middle of the screen splits Kuina’s face in two. He isn’t used to having to use his right hand and scrolls through his contacts a little laboriously. He struggles to remember who Nami and Vivi are for a moment, plus the bowl-haircut head of Bentham, making a duck face in his circular contact photo. Then of course there was Luffy, but...

Would he or the others even care that he had gotten hurt? They had only met once, they barely know him. That left...

“Usopp.” Zoro rasps. 

“Okay, we’ll give him a call for you!” the nurse says.

It’s only half an hour later when they hear a scuffle in the hallway, the two officers guarding the door are struggling and yelling.

“Just let me in dammit! I’m his _friend_!”

“What the…” Smoker mutters under his breath, as the door bangs open and the short Brazilian man stands there, panting and dragging the two guards behind him. 

“ZORO!” Luffy bellows.

“Who the _hell_ are _you_?” Smoker growls and gets to his feet. He and Johnny look like they’re ready to tackle the scruffy man to the ground.

“I know him,” Zoro says quickly, “I know him, it’s okay.” 

The officers look at each other and Zoro is still slightly worried they’re all going to dogpile on him. The way Luffy’s plentiful muscles are bulging tells him he wouldn’t go down without a fight either. As the officers let him go, he rushes to Zoro’s side like a rubber band pulled taut and then suddenly released.

It feels like a lifetime since Zoro had last seen him, dark skin and wild black hair, sharp jawline still covered with a scruffy beard. He’s wearing loose pants and a tank top, a red hoodie and sneakers, as if he just came out of a Capoeira class.

Luffy’s face is so anguished that the urge to cry rapidly comes back. Zoro swallows thickly and winces. Talking hurts.

“I called for Usopp…” Zoro mutters.

“He got stuck in traffic, he called me so someone could come and be with you.”

“I… I didn’t think you would care.”

“Of course I care! You’re my _friend!”_ he says fiercely. 

“Uh, sir,” Yosaku says to Smoker, “maybe we should give them a minute.”

“Right.” Smoker isn’t done eyeing Luffy suspiciously, but he turns and follows Yosaku and Johnny out.

Luffy plonks himself down in the chair beside his bed and there’s a small crease between his tilted brows, so much worry in his big brown eyes that it looks wrong on him. 

Zoro can feel something inside him snapping and tearing as soon as the men leave. The levees are breaking and he can’t stop the tears no matter how hard he tries. He covers his face with his hand and trembles with sobs.

“Luffy… I’ve ruined everything. Someone’s probably dead because of me. I fucked up, I fucked up so bad…”

“Hey, come on now.” Luffy shushes him and gathers Zoro into his arms.

Zoro doesn’t really cry, hasn’t cried in years, and yet here he is unable to stop the kind of ugly crying where his face crumples and snot starts dribbling out of his nose. In the arms of an almost complete stranger no less.

Luffy carefully wraps his arms around his shoulders and strokes his matted, bloody hair. His hoodie is damp with rain and he’s getting Zoro’s hospital gown wet, but he smells of sweat and sunshine and life. It beats the hell out of the chemical smells of the hospital.

“You didn’t ruin anything, you’re safe.”

Tears turn to complete emotional exhaustion and he’s asleep long before Usopp arrives.

* * *

 

 

“I know you liked to torture yourself, but this is a little much huh, Big Cat?” Usopp says. 

Zoro tries to roll his eyes at him, but only succeeds in getting phantom pain in his empty eye socket. He had heard of phantom limb syndrome, but had no idea it extended to eyes too. Just another shitty thing he has to get used to. That, and his lack of depth perception. 

Usopp sits on one side of his bed, with Luffy on the other. Gifts from work-mates started piling up on his bedside table, boxes of chocolates and other sweets he shuddered at the thought of actually eating. Luffy’s begging look brings a wan smile to Zoro’s lips.

“Go ahead…” Zoro says. It at least makes him happy to see someone enjoying them.

“Hey Zoro,” Usopp says, trying to grab a chocolate while Luffy growls and tries to move the box out of his reach. “I hope you don’t mind but, I told Nami and Vivi what happened. They said they’d drop by soon.”

Zoro grumbles slightly, he has no idea whether he minds or not. All he wants to do is lie alone and feel sorry for himself.  
“Hey, is it true… the guys who hurt you might still be after you?” Usopp says. “We haven’t heard from Sanji in a while either…”

“I don’t know.”

The memory of Gin being dragged into Mihawk’s car won’t leave his mind. If the man is dead, Zoro doesn’t know what he’s going to do. The hushed conversations he catches between Smoker and Tashigi don’t help, and he doesn’t want to think about it.

The door opens and Vivi steps in, she has a basket full of ripe tangerines under her arm, while Nami holds a bunch of magnolias.

Nami’s eyes widen when she sees him, and Vivi’s mouth drops before she manages to collect herself.

“Hello Zoro, we thought you could use some extra vitamin C.” Vivi says, putting the basket at his side while Nami puts the vase of flowers by the window. Zoro hates flowers. The cloying scent always reminds him of funerals and they’re already filling the room. Usopp grabs a tangerine and starts peeling it for him, while Luffy reaches over and pops the segments into his mouth. He has no idea what Vivi and Nami do to the things, but it’s the best tangerine he’s eaten in his life.

“Zoro I just want to say if there’s anything else we can do for you… We’re always here, okay?”

Vivi takes his hand with both of hers and her earnest gaze is too much. Her pity is like a knife twisting in his gut and he pulls his hand away with a cough.

“Thanks… I’m fine really.”

He spits out a seed and Luffy keeps feeding him slices. He feels weird about it, but it’s such a casually friendly thing that he doesn’t complain. 

He lets their chatter wash over him, as they talk about the farm and Club Peachy and nice, normal things. It’s better than crying alone in his hospital room, and it at least knocks the thoughts of Gin out of his mind. He concentrates on their voices, the smell of tangerines and Luffy’s fingers pressing at his mouth, urging him to eat. 

 

 

* * *

 

Smoker brings him a gift he actually doesn’t mind, a hand strengthener so he can at least get a little bit of exercise. It only occurred to him how little he uses his right hand when his dominant one is covered in a cast. 

“Ah kid… I’m sorry.” Smoker says, as he sits heavily in the chair by Zoro’s side.

“I was scared. This is the exact sort of thing I thought would happen if we went after Mihawk. Call me a coward, I don’t care. But now he’s made it personal, he’s _laughing_ at us.”

“We might not get along all the time Roronoa but… hell, I know you always try your hardest. And you’re family to me.”

Zoro blinks at the man. He feels awkward remembering the last conversation they had, throwing angry words back and forth doesn’t strike him as very familial.

“Where’s Gin. Did you find him?”

“We’re... Still looking.” Smoker says, not looking him in the eye.

“You need to rest Zoro. Let me handle it.” Tashigi says. There’s a kind of cold fire in her dark eyes and he knows she means it.

“I trust you, Shigs.”

She gives him the briefest of smiles and nods.

* * *

 

When he’s allowed to walk around again, he feels like a baby giraffe learning to walk for the first time; skinny, atrophied legs trying to support a body that’s much too tall and ungainly. 

Tashigi brings him some clean clothes from home, and he gets the clothes he was wearing back in a plastic bag. He’s still surprised at how much blood he lost and he thinks idly about dry-cleaning.

Even loose track pants, boxers and a hooded sweatshirt feel strange after wearing nothing but a hospital gown for so long. Tashigi helps him navigate his arm into the sleeves and put his shoes on, then offers her shoulder to support him as they walk out. In the hallway Smoker is waiting with a wheelchair and Yosaku and Johnny are ready and waiting to escort him out.

“Come on Roronoa, let’s get you home.”

He sinks gratefully into the wheelchair and Smoker takes the handles.

“I should warn you,” Smoker says, “there’s been a few reporters camped outside. We put a watch at the doors partly to keep them from sneaking in.”

“I thought you could use this,” Tashigi says, handing him a dark-green baseball cap. He puts it on and flips his hood over it for good measure.

Outside a heavy drizzle is starting to fall, November has come. The once-crisp October leaves clog up the sidewalks, soggy and stomped into mulch. Everything smells of rot and decay.

The reporters stirr like a hive of wasps all at once as Tashigi opens the doors and Smoker wheels him out. 

“A few reporters? A _few?!_ ” Zoro mutters at Smoker angrily. The older man can only grumble apologetically as reporters step out to block their path.

“Outta the way!” Smoker growls.

“Officer Roronoa! How did you survive your encounter with Mihawk?”

“No comment.” Zoro mutters, pulling the rim of the cap further over his face.

“What does this have to do with the series of murders three years ago?”

“No comment.”

The cameras swoop in and the barrage of questions doesn’t stop.

“Roronoa! What is your connection with the Isshin crime group?”

All Zoro can do is bleat ‘no comment’ and crumple further and further into his wheelchair as Tashigi tries to hasten them away. He holds up his arm to hide his face but they circle like flies to get a better angle.

The walk to Smoker’s police cruiser seems endless and Zoro’s heart is in his mouth as he wobbles upright to get into the back seat. Tashigi gets in beside him to block him from view

Smoker blocks the window from their view, but they duck around him and the cameras flash without cease, he hears the man bark at them to try and dispel the crowd and his voice sounds a million miles away.

More press come around to his side of the car and he lifts his jacket up over his face.

“ _Fucking_ vultures!” Smoker barks as he gets into the driver’s seat and guns the engine, threatening to run over the few paparazzi who are leaning over the hood, still snapping away. Smoker lays on the horn and drives off while Zoro rubs the sheen of sweat off his face. Tashigi puts her hand gently on his shoulder.

“We’re going to get you home, okay Zoro? Don’t worry about them, we’ll deal with it while you recover.

Zoro mutters his thanks and stares out the window as the rain-washed city streets go past in a blur. He sees none of it.

His apartment feels strange to him as he steps through the doors. It’s been almost two weeks. Usually he maintains it almost as well as his body, and right now it’s just as much of a wreck. His marimo aquarium has a layer of green scum lying over the top, his katana has a thick layer of dust over it and everything in his fridge has gone off. 

He’s in no mood to deal with any of it and he slumps down on the couch.

“Ah, sorry…” Tashigi says. “I meant to come over and clean up, but work…”

“Don’t worry about it Shigs. I didn’t even think to ask if you were okay after...”

“Minor concussion and a couple of broken ribs.”

He looks at her sharply.

“I-it’s fine though. I can stay and help out if you want.”

“No, just take care of yourself. I’m fine here.”

“O-okay. I’ll check in with you later.”

She hesitates by the door before shutting it gently.

He’s not fine, he’s the opposite of fine. When Tashigi and Smoker leave his thoughts close in over him like a black cloud. He curls into himself and cries.

  
  


* * *

 

A few days later, he's not sure if he's even moved from the couch when Usopp calls him.

"Hey Big Cat!"

"Stop trying to make 'Big Cat' happen, Usopp."

"I will make it a thing if it kills me! Anyway… We thought we'd come rescue you from your tower, celebrate you getting out of hospital!"

 Zoro feels like he doesn't have much to celebrate, besides being able to wear pants again.

"Well… Alright I guess."

After he hangs up, he goes into the bathroom and scrubs some hand soap and water through his greasy hair, makes himself smell less like old milk and throws on a shirt that doesn’t have pit stains.

He’s been trying to avoid looking in the mirror, as he’s lost so much weight he doesn’t even recognise himself. He grabs a mouthful of water from the sink and quickly necks some pain meds. 

The first thing he sees at the lobby camera is Usopp's enormous nose taking up the entire screen.

"HEY RAPUNZEL, LET DOWN YOUR GREEN HAIR!" he yells into the intercom.

"For fuck's sake…" Zoro mutters as he buzzes them in.

He hears them all crowding into the hallway before he even lets them in. As he opens the door, Usopp darts forward to hug him. He jerks away instinctively and takes a few nervous steps back. There’s hurt in Usopp’s dark eyes.

"You alright man?"

He hesitantly nods. They're just his friends, so why does he feel so scared?

"Did you like the tangerines?" Vivi asks.

"Yes, thank you.” Zoro nods politely. “They were delicious."

"Yeah you better be grateful!" Nami says. "Otherwise I'd have had to charge you."

"Honey …" Vivi says, bumping her hip into Nami's.

"Oh I'm just kidding, mostly. Now about the charge for towing your bike back…" 

Zoro feels himself going pale.

"Nami your eyeliner is all smudged!" Vivi cries suddenly.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is! Sorry Zoro, may we use your bathroom?"

He nods and Vivi gives him a radiant smile as she walks past him, dragging her girlfriend by the hand. Soon they hear a muffled argument breaking out.

"How you holding up Zoro?" Luffy says, as he waves them into the apartment.

All he can do is shrug, he doesn't feel like lying and say he feels great.

"We uh, saw you on the news again." Usopp says.

"I didn't." Luffy says.

"Everyone but Luffy saw you on the news. They were saying-"

"I don't need to hear it," Zoro stops him, "I already know the kind of things they say about me."

"It's just… you never told me about your father. I kinda wish I had heard it from you first."

"He ended all that stuff before he even adopted me, it’s all just ancient history. To me he was always just a guy who ran a dojo."

He glances over at the small shrine nestled in the corner of the room with Kuina and his adopted father’s pictures stood next to each other, the last tangerine placed between them as an offering. Wado Ichimonji, rests on top of the shrine. He doesn’t believe in a god, but he likes to think that Wado is protecting their spirits somehow.

“Still to think he used to do all that stuff… He sounded like a pretty dangerous guy!”

Luffy turns to Usopp, bristling.

"Usopp, enough! Who cares about the past?!” he turns to Zoro with his eyes blazing, “You're not your father!"

Luffy is so agitated his hair is practically standing on end, Usopp touches his shoulder and shoots him a look that Zoro can't quite decipher. He clears his throat and looks away. Zoro is speechless, and a little bit grateful to him for shutting that part of the conversation down.

When Nami and Vivi come back he squints at them, their makeup doesn’t look any different from when they had walked in. 

“Sorry about that!” Vivi says.

“Yeah uh, don’t worry about towing the bike back.” Nami adds. “It was no trouble and you don’t have to pay us back.”

“Let’s go already.” Luffy says, leading the way down the hall towards the elevator. They all cram inside in a way that Zoro is sure is testing the weight limit of the thing.

"Where we going?" Zoro says.

"HACHI'S!" Luffy cries and punches the air with such force that the elevator shudders.

Luffy leads them to a quiet back table and promptly orders half the menu. When the tray of golden, glistening fried food arrives, Zoro finds he has absolutely no appetite. Luffy prods a piece of tempura-battered zucchini against his lips but he waves him away. He cradles a glass of water and hunches over the table. Being outside feels strange, the restaurant that was once so cosy and inviting just seems noisy and chaotic. He’s struggling to hear what the others are saying and he jumps every time the waitress comes by to ask how they’re enjoying the food.

"You want some sake Zoro? My treat." Usopp says.

“No, I can’t drink with my pain meds.”

The group falls silent and Zoro wants the ground to swallow him up.

 _God I’m being a bummer, I should just go,_ he thinks.

He stumbles to his feet, muttering some kind of apology and almost crashes into the waitress as she suddenly appears in his blind spot. He limps as fast as he can out of the restaurant and into the rain. It’s coming down in sheets and it quickly soaks into his hair and trickles down the back of his neck. 

He stares stupidly down the dark street and doesn’t even move for a moment. He’s too far away from his apartment to walk and doesn’t have cash on him to call for a cab. Yet he starts walking anyway. 

He hears wet slaps on the sidewalk and a voice calling after him.

“Zoro!”

Luffy runs out after him, waving wildly. He’s wearing nothing remotely waterproof and his stupid flip-flops are what’s slapping on the wet pavement.

“Where are you going? Nami was gonna drive you home.”

“I’m fine, I still have legs.”

Luffy catches up to him easily and scowls.

“I’m not letting you walk home in your condition.” Luffy puts his hand on his good arm and Zoro angrily shakes it away.

“Shut the hell up! I’m not an invalid.”

The sudden movement makes every wound in his body wake up and shout with pain, it only serves to make Zoro angrier and he doesn’t know whether to cry or punch Luffy in the face. For a moment he genuinely hates this man, dragging him out to this part of town, for intruding on his life and caring about him when he’s a stupid fuck-up who should have died on the wharf.

“Just go home and quit _fucking_ _bugging_ me!”

Zoro stares at him with his shoulders rising and falling and a snarl frozen on his face.

He lets out a surprised yelp when Luffy grabs him by the back of his jacket and drags him down the street, to the shelter of a bus stop. He stares at him with his mouth open, a few more angry words at the ready, but for some reason he’s unable to voice them. Luffy holds him like a naughty puppy as he dials a number into his cracked phone.

“Yeah can I get a cab outside Hachi's? … _That long?!_ Can’t you hurry up? My friend isn’t feeling good.”

Luffy groans and slumps his shoulders dramatically, causing him to be dragged a few inches downwards.

“ _Fine_ , we’ll wait.”  
He makes Zoro sit down on the sloped bench. It’s hard and puts pressure on the wound in his hip, not helping his already foul mood.

He’s not sure whether Luffy is angry, but there’s a definite tension in him as he glances out the corner of his eye. He folds one leg over the other and impatiently bounces his foot against his knee.

Zoro grimaces as cold water dribbles down from his soaked hair down into the gauze over his eye, into the stitching around the wound. It’s starting to itch as it heals and the constant drips agitate it. He folds his arm around himself and stares out at the rain thrashing the road, the bus stop is starting to feel like being stuck in a cave being a waterfall. He shivers, half from the cold, the other half from the silence drawing out further and further.

“Sorry...” Zoro says, not wanting long, tense silences to be a part of their relationship. “You guys were just trying to be nice and I...”

Luffy breathes in deep and pulls his hat from his shoulders onto his head. The cheerful yellow of the straw and the bright red stripe look so out of place in the pouring rain it’s almost comical.

“Don’t apologize, we’re not mad at you. Just worried.”

Zoro fiddles with the gauze over his eye, trying to dispel the itch without opening the wound up.

“That’s even worse.”  
Luffy snorts and bumps his knee against Zoro’s playfully.

“You’re a weird guy Zoro. But I like you.”

 _Look who’s talking._ Zoro thinks with a smile. He fixes his gaze on Luffy’s muscular thigh still pressed next to his leg. For someone who wears flip-flops and shorts in the infancy of winter, he radiates warmth and Zoro is fucking freezing, even more so when the wind changes direction and blows cold rain directly into their shelter. Zoro finds himself shuffling closer to Luffy’s warmth semi-unconsciously and he doesn’t protest when he wraps an arm around Zoro’s shoulders and pulls him close.

His shivering subsides just a little and he gingerly leans over to rest his soaked head on Luffy’s shoulder. He even starts to drift off slightly, before the cab arrives and the driver lays on the horn.

 _Well, back to square one I guess._ He thinks, as his heart hammers against his ribs.

He’s surprised when he falls into the back seat and Luffy does the same.

“You’re coming too?”  
“Of course, I told the others I’d make sure you get home safe.”

“Where to?” the cab driver says. Luffy points to Zoro.

“This guy’s house.”  
“Yeah, I don’t know where that is.”

“Little Tokyo please.” Zoro mutters, then starts to shiver again as the car moves off.

Exhaustion and cold overlap until he’s dizzy, and the driver is either too cheap to put on the heating or is part polar bear. Luffy wraps an arm around his waist and he buries his face against his neck. 

After a few minutes Zoro feels something cold and wrong that has nothing to do with the weather, he opens his eye and finds the cab driver watching them with a heavy-lidded stare, under a single black brow.

“Quite some injuries you’ve got there.” the taxi driver says, in a way that freezes Zoro. The man is far too muscular to just sit driving around all day, the cords in his neck stand out too much and his head is shaved down to stubble. Zoro’s eye is still struggling to adjust to the lack of depth perception, but the driver seems to staring him straight in the face.

It's hard to tell in between the dark and the rain, but it feels like they're turning away from Little Tokyo and heading towards the park instead. Zoro feels a sudden urge to open the passenger door and take a dive. 

His breathing gets out of control and he grabs Luffy’s hand, squeezing it as if he means to break the man’s fingers. He leans over and whispers in Luffy's ear, as quietly as he can.

“Tell him to stop, we have to get out of here.”

“Here is far enough!” Luffy shouts, and throws a handful of notes at the man. Car horns blare at them as they hop out into traffic, blinding white headlights and sheets of rain.

When Zoro casts a look back at the driver, he’s leaning with one thick arm swinging lazily out the window and still watching him with that cold look. He raises two fingers lazily in a wave and calls after them.

“Take care of yourself, Roronoa.”

Zoro inhales sharply and feels the world spinning, nearly tripping over the kerb in his haste to get out of the road. He somehow manages to stumble in the direction of his building, with Luffy’s arm helping to keep him upright. As Zoro punches in the code he’s breathing so hard his lungs threaten to give up on him. 

He barely makes it into the bathroom and falls hard on his knees to vomit into the toilet. The goddamn look in the taxi driver’s eyes… What would he have done if Luffy weren’t there?

The thought makes him retch until his abdomen is spasming and bile burns his throat and the back of his nose. Even his knees won’t support him anymore and he sprawls in a gasping heap with his head in the toilet. He hears the pad of bare feet on the tiles behind him.

“Hand me a towel?” Zoro says, pausing to spit bitter nothing into the toilet. Luffy pads away and he frowns at the rag Luffy comes back with, a soggy one that smells like old Nattō.

“Not a dish towel," he gasps, "you fucking animal.”

Luffy blunders around his bathroom, pulling bottles of shampoo and hair dye down from his cabinet. Zoro is too deep in the throes of panic to direct him. Eventually, after much clattering and something small shattering on tiles, he manages to locate the shelf where he keeps his towels.

Adrenaline is still rushing through him as Luffy helps him sit against the bath and starts towelling off his hair. He helps him ease his jacket and boots off and throws them in a haphazard pile. It starts to wear off as Luffy throws the warm towel over his head, and he’s left frozen and staring at the man’s feet.

“What happened?” Luffy says quietly, as he starts towelling off Zoro’s hair, “Who was that guy?”

“I dunno, I’ve never seen him before.” Zoro pants, pausing as a violent shudder tears through his body. “He knew me though.”

“From the news report?”  
“No…” Zoro finally manages to look up. “Listen, the man who did this to me… He has eyes and ears everywhere, you might be in danger just being seen with me. You understand?”

“Okay but, I don’t think that guy would have done anything. I mean if he wanted you dead they already woulda…”

Luffy stops when Zoro looks at him the same way a deer might look when face-to-face with a hunter’s rifle. He at least has the good sense to look ashamed and runs a hand through his tangled hair.

“Sorry, I…”

“No, you’re right. They just want me to know they can find me whenever they feel like it.” The words come out in a bitter rush. 

“Well, if I ever see this Mihawk guy, I’m going to kick his ass! No-one hurts my friends.”  
Zoro huffs out a small laugh. It’s so childish, but he can tell Luffy means it, one-hundred percent.

“If this could be solved by a punch to the face, I would let you.”

Zoro falls forward and rests his forehead against Luffy’s chest. He’s tired, so tired that he’s not too proud to allow Luffy to help him strip off his clinging-cold shirt and jeans. Once he’s dried off, Luffy cups his chin with both hands and idly runs a thumb over his jaw.

“Go get into bed, Zoro. And try not to worry about anything tonight. I’ll be here.”

He nods, thinking about making some remark about Luffy inviting himself over for the night, but thinking better of it.

He’s climbing into bed and trying to warm himself up when he hears Luffy on the phone, and the loud man on the other end loud and clear. Through a crack in the door Zoro can see him hunched over his kotatsu.

“Yo, Franky.”

“Luffy! What’s up bro?”

“I’m calling in that favour. I need your help.”

“Anything for you, amigo.”

“I got this friend, he’s a cop.”

“...Anything but that."

“Yeah well, he’s a really good guy! A guy called Mihawk nearly killed him and he’s really _scared_ right now. Do you know anything about that guy?”  
The voice on the other end falls silent.

“We try to stay out of his way.”

“Can you ask the Family to keep an eye out for him? I can’t look after him all the time with my job the way it is. His arm is all messed up and he can’t take care of himself.” 

The voice sighs deeply and makes some indistinct grumbles. Zoro doesn’t like the sound of this at all, having had one or two run-ins with the Franky Family before. Nothing major, a few counts of drunken disorderly behaviour and minor misdemeanours, but in Zoro’s experience good people don’t usually call themselves a ‘Family’ and go around starting trouble.

“Well I’ll do it for you Loof, but we don’t want any trouble with Hawkeye either, if this comes back to any of my brothers and sisters…”

“It won’t. I give you my word, Franky.”  
“I’ll see what I can do. Take care of yourself bud.”

“Yeah, you too.”

The light in the living room soon clicks off and Zoro shuts his eye, pretending to have been asleep the whole time.

Zoro hears the shuffle of the door opening and bare feet coming closer. Luffy arranges himself carefully at his less injured side and moves his radiator-like body close.

The conversation he overheard worries him, and it occurs to him that he doesn’t know a thing about this man, other that he can eat his body weight in ramen. He tries to even think if he’s had a conversation with the guy that went any deeper than talking about food, but right now the warmth of his muscles and the protective comfort his arms speak are their own conversation. 

_You’re safe, and I’m here with you._

 

* * *

 

In the morning, Zoro only wakes when he swings his arm out, seeking out the warmth of a body that’s no longer there. He sits up slowly, almost disappointed at the thought of Luffy leaving without saying goodbye. Then he hears a crash and several colourful words coming from the kitchen.

Luffy is standing wearing boxers and a pilfered grey sweatshirt that is at least a couple sizes too big for him, staring at a box of eggs as if he’s never seen the things before.

“Dare I ask?” Zoro says, his voice craggy with exhaustion. Something about the panic attack the night before has left him feeling drained in a way that can’t be solved with coffee.

“I was gonna make you some breakfast but…”

Luffy looks at the globs of egg dripping off the counter, and spilled grains of raw rice all over the oven top.

“Did you sleep okay?” Luffy says brightly, like the nightmare of last night never happened.

 _Like a baby._ Zoro thinks, he had long forgotten what it was like to sleep snug and warm with another person beside him. 

“Yeah, okay I guess.”

Zoro tips rice and water into the cooker, then sets about mopping egg off the counter. The first stabbings of the memory of the phone call comes back to him, but he’ll be damned if he lets Luffy know about his accidental eavesdropping. 

He orders Luffy to grab some things from the upper shelves that it still hurts too much for him to reach by himself, and eventually they compile something resembling breakfast. Two bowls of rice, miso soup, some little grilled fish, cups of green tea and hard-boiled eggs. Luffy glops ketchup all over his eggs and rice (where he got the ketchup is a mystery, Zoro keeps nothing like it in his house) and piles into the food with as much grace as Zoro has come to expect of him.

“You really go in for this clean-eating stuff, huh Zoro?”

“I like simple food.” Zoro says, putting rice into his mouth one grain at a time, “And anything that goes with Sake.” He has no appetite, and his abdomen aches from vomiting.

Luffy is done before Zoro can even peel one of his eggs and he tosses his bowl into the sink with a loud clatter.

“Thanks for the food! Um, listen Zoro… I asked a friend of mine to check by later. He’s pretty funny-looking, but he’s a good guy.”

Zoro rankles at the fact that Luffy apparently gave this random guy his home address, but merely raises a curious eyebrow as he listlessly taps an egg against the table. Why did he make these damn things when they take two hands to eat properly?

“I might have to pull a double shift, so take care of yourself.”

Luffy grabs the egg out of his hand and quickly rolls it over the table, removing the shell and thin membrane all at once.

“Oh and Zoro-”

Zoro’s ears turn hot pink as Luffy darts down and presses a kiss to his jaw, his mouth drops open in shock and Luffy takes the opportunity to pop the peeled egg in his mouth.

“-please remember to eat.”

Luffy strolls out, still wearing Zoro’s sweatshirt. He’s still blushing when the door clicks shut.

* * *

 

Later that day, Zoro jerks awake from a nap to hear his buzzer ringing. A jolt of fear runs through him until he remembers what Luffy had said about Franky. His fear gets replaced with apprehension as he goes to meet the visitor at the front door.

The stranger waiting for him is even stranger than Zoro could have expected. Skinny legs and thick arms covered in tattoos, loud Hawaiian shorts, an equally loud Hawaiian shirt open over a white vest and ludicrously heavy gold chains. Sunglasses and sky-blue dyed hair in a tall quiff just complete the picture. Zoro assumes this is the Franky Luffy had been talking to the night before. He lifts his sunglasses up with a thumb to stare down at Zoro with piercing blue eyes, lined with heavy mascara.

“Zoro… right?” Franky says.

“Yeah.” Zoro says slowly, already not liking how he has to crane his neck up to look the man in the face.

Franky slowly offers his enormous hand and squeezes Zoro’s tightly, he squeezes back just as hard. 

“You’re off duty, yeah?”

“ _Off duty?_ You think I’m going to be busting anyone like this?”

“Right,” Franky looks shifty and glances down the street, “so anything you might hear about any _potential_ criminal activity stays between you and me, yeah?”

Franky takes off his sunglasses and fiddles with them. There’s an air of a little boy up to no good trapped in an adult’s body in him.  
“For now, sure.” Zoro says dryly.

“So, can we come in?”

“Depends who ‘we’ is.”

Zoro leans over to look behind the bulk of Franky’s barrel chest to get a look at the most ridiculous electric-blue SUV he’s ever seen. An elegant woman steps out of the car wearing an enormous black feather coat. Short black hair peeks out from underneath her white cloche hat and a black dress sweeps down to mid-thigh. She holds her head in a way that’s almost regal, an elegant air that looks completely out of place next to a thug like Franky.

“We don’t want to overwhelm you.” she says mildly, with a gracious little smile.

“You are…?” Zoro says, offering his hand that she takes gently.

“Robin.”

“Yeah, she’s my bird.” Franky says.

“Your… bird?”

Robin slips her slender arm around Franky’s absurdly thick elbow.

“Oh.”

“Hey bro, can we come in too?” A man with wild black hair leans out the SUV and waves. Two women with ridiculously square afros are leaning out the window.

Franky turns around and bellows.  
“GET OUTTA HERE ZAMBAI! YOU WANT TO SCARE HIM? _JEEZ!”_

Even when it's not directed at him, Franky’s voice is _loud_ and Zoro is left rubbing his ear drum to check it hasn’t burst open.

Zoro sighs and waves them into the lobby. If they are here to murder him, politely knocking at the door and asking to come in is hardly the way to go about it.

When he shows them into his apartment, Franky starts rummaging around in his fridge with about as much care and respect as Luffy did.

“So... Luffy tells me you’ve had quite the couple of weeks.”

“You could put it like that.”

Zoro winces as he sits down on the couch, Robin wanders around his apartment, looking at the art on the wall and watching the moss balls float around the aquarium.

“You got any cola?” Franky says, pulling the few bottles out and squinting as he looks at the labels.  
“Nope. Beer, sake and green tea.”

Franky helps himself to a beer and levers off the cap using Zoro’s kitchen counter.

“What do you know about Mihawk?” Zoro says.  
“We get his little fledgelings coming around, trying to convince us to merge with them from time to time.” Franky cracks his knuckles with a revolting series of pops. “We’re always happy to let them know what we think of _that.”_

Franky slumps down at the other end of the couch so hard that Zoro bounces up in the air slightly.

“Luffy asked me to watch your ass, but lemme make one thing clear.” Franky holds up a meaty finger. “I’m only doin’ this for him. We’re not babysitters, capiche?”

“Whatever, I didn’t ask for this.” Zoro says with a scowl. Franky snorts and takes a huge quaff of beer.

“Some gratitude. Luffy sure does know how to pick ‘em.”

* * *

 

 

Zoro mostly hides in his room as he adjust to having visitors. 

Franky and Robin apparently enjoy watching crime thrillers on the TV, and Zoro has had too much experience there, almost becoming the victim of one to enjoy them much anymore. Robin cooked an enormous pan full of paella, but the bowl is untouched on his bedside table, and he feels too weak to even take bite.

He’s glad when Luffy at least comes back to act as a buffer between them, so he doesn’t have to have awkward conversations all on his own.

Luffy’s eyes have dark circles under them and the scruff on his chin is even wilder and untamed than before. There’s a fresh scrape on one of his cheeks and some of his hair looks singed. He stands back from the door as Zoro opens it, as if to not scare him, then slowly steps forward and gently clasps his face in his hands. Luffy carefully hugs him, then moves past him into the living room.

“Yo, Franky, Robin!” Luffy says, “You guys been getting along?”

“Haven’t had the chance, I’ve barely seen the guy leave his room.” Franky grumbles.

“You guys can go home if you want, we’ll be fine tonight.” Luffy says.

“Yeah alright. Later Loof, Zo-bro.”

“Hope you start feeling better soon my dear.” Robin says as she follows Franky out the door. 

Luffy grabs his hand and drags him towards the bathroom.

“You stink Zoro, come on.”

He’s embarrassed, but it’s true. The sour smell of his pits has become so bad that he probably needs a biohazard warning on his front door.

Luffy makes him kneel with his head over the bath and a towel slung over his shoulders. Zoro sighs as Luffy runs the showerhead over his hair. He hasn’t washed it since he was in the hospital and it takes a few lathers and rinses before the water runs clear again.

“Thanks, I was starting to feel gross.”

“You smell plenty gross too. Put your arms up.”

Luffy wrinkles his nose as he gives him a scrub under his armpit with a rag, then tries to coax him into doing the same with his broken arm. Zoro winces as he does so, and silently begs him to hurry up.

Luffy smiles at him, but in a way that’s tinged all over with sadness. When Zoro looks into the mirror, he finds out why. He’s shed pounds of his carefully-maintained muscle and what little fat he had in the first place. Plastic bandages stick to his bullet wounds and he looks bony and tired. The shadow around his one visible eye makes him look like he lost a fistfight, not helped by the lack of sunlight he’s been getting. His black roots are showing under dyed green and he can’t be bothered to touch them up, same thing with his patchy black beard growing through.

“You’re a mess Zoro.”

“Wow, what an amazing deduction, you ever looked into doing detective work?”

“Shush cowboy.”

Zoro feels bad for snapping, but can’t help but feel vulnerable standing wet and half-naked with Luffy towelling him off.

_Stupid idiot, quit being mean to him._

As he stands around mentally berating himself, he doesn’t even notice when his legs start to shake until Luffy makes him sit on the rim of the bath. He thoughtfully runs his hands around Zoro’s stubbly jaw and neck.

He wants the touch so badly that he sighs and leans into it. He _needs it,_ but he doesn’t _want_ it at the same time, not when he feels so disgusting and worthless.

“You don’t need to do that, really.” Zoro says as Luffy lathers his face with shaving foam.

“It’s no trouble.”

Zoro jerks his face away from Luffy’s hands.

“Haven’t you got anything better to do?!” Zoro snaps.

Luffy picks up his razor and starts getting rid of the sharp black bristles around his sideburns, but his smile is gone and he tightens his grip on Zoro’s chin a little.

“Look Zoro, I don’t really care if you say mean stuff to me, because I know you’ve been hurt and you must be feeling awful right now.”

Luffy rinses the hair off the razor and gets to work on his other side.

“But if you really want me to go away and leave you alone, just say it. Just say,” Luffy folds his brows down and deepens his voice to a low growl, Zoro guesses in an imitation of himself, “ _Luffy, get the fuck out of my house and don’t come back!_ And I’ll go!”

Zoro stares hard at a certain chipped floor tile, too ashamed of himself to look Luffy in the eye.

He feels Luffy’s eyes boring into the side of his head for a few seconds more until he carries on swiping the razor over his jaw and under his chin.

“Sorry… I’m being a jerk.”

“Yeah, you are. But it’s okay, I’ll take care of you anyway."

After a pause, Luffy pulls his lower lip down and makes a stupid face.

“Hey, can you do this?" He says, indicating that he wants to shave Zoro’s upper lip. He obliges with a mild eye roll and lets him finish.

“I just don’t get why you want to stick around with me,” Zoro says once he’s done, “I’m disgusting.”

“No you’re not. You have cool green hair, and cool earrings and you drive a bike.”

Zoro snorts and looks at the floor tile again.

“You know why I like you?" Luffy continues, "You put your life at risk to catch this Mihawk guy when it sounds like everyone was telling you not to even try. Even if it didn’t come off, you still _tried._ That takes some _huge_ balls, man!"

Two points of heat flare up on his cheeks as Luffy looks at him with something resembling admiration. Luffy wipes the leftover shaving foam from his face and strokes his hands along his jaw.

“I think I missed a spot.”

“Hm, where?”

Luffy darts his face forward and plants a tiny kiss on Zoro’s lips.  
“There!”

Luffy grins and tugs playfully at his earrings.

“Cheer up Zoro, you’re going to be fine."

* * *

 

“You know, I don’t ever recall inviting you into my bed.”

Luffy pauses in the middle of whipping off his shirt and grins sheepishly.

“Well, you were so cold the night with the taxi… I uh, didn’t want you to be alone.”

Zoro hums thoughtfully at that as Luffy’s shirt flies across the room to land in a heap, soon followed by his shorts. His face starts to feel warm as he looks over Luffy’s broad chest with the ragged X-shaped scar covering it.

Luffy hops onto the bed and presses his half-naked body close, his face resting in the curve of Zoro’s neck and shoulder and his leg swung lazily over his thigh.

“You just didn’t want to sleep on the couch, right?” Zoro grumbles. 

“Not true! Well, kinda. But… I just want you to feel safe, you deserve to feel good..."

Luffy trails off as he presses his lips to his jaw and trails kisses down his neck. Zoro’s hand grips the sheets and his body tenses at the sudden electric shock his lips send shooting down his body.

_Well shit._

The kisses stop abruptly and Luffy pulls back and sits up, “You... you _do_ want me to be here, right? Sometimes I can't really tell with you, if I’m just annoying you or..."

In the dim room he can just about see Luffy’s eyes flicking back and forth, searching Zoro’s face for the answer. “Look I-I know we haven’t known each other very long but, I really care about you! This is kinda weird for me, I don’t usually do this..."

Zoro opens his mouth as he tries to find the right words, but Luffy quickly interrupts him.  “Nevermind, I’m dumb - just forget it.” He slumps down onto his side with his back to Zoro, before he can even process what it is he wants to say. Zoro grunts as he pushes himself upright. The curve of Luffy's shoulder fits perfectly in the palm of his hand. 

"Luffy… I _do_ want you around. I’m just… not great at showing it I guess.” he says weakly.

Luffy half rolls over and gives him a hopeful look, "You do?”

"Yeah." 

“Then… this is okay?” He puts his hand over Zoro’s chest, right over where his heart is starting to hammer madly. He barely manages a small nod before Luffy darts forward and pins him to the bed. His nose bumps Zoro’s cheek in his eagerness to kiss him. There’s something a little desperate about the lips slamming against his and the hands cupping his face, by the time Luffy pulls back he gasps for breath and wonders where all the air in the room has gone.

“I just… thought you might be joking around,” Zoro pants, trying to keep the shake out of his voice when Luffy reaches under his shirt and strokes up his body. “I’m not exactly much to look at right now…”

“Don’t be dumb, you’re beautiful…” Luffy trails off as he thumbs a nipple, pinching it lightly while he goes back to kissing along his neck and shoulder. He mutters a stream of soft words in Portuguese that cause Zoro to reach down and scramble one-handed out of his sweatpants.

Luffy helps tug them the rest of the way and rubs the calloused pads of his thumbs over Zoro’s thighs. He has no idea why Luffy wants to touch him in the state he’s in, but there’s a hungry look in his eyes, and impatience in the way his hands fumble to slip off his boxers.

He makes an embarrassing sound at the first contact of Luffy's bare skin and the brush of their sensitive tips together. He's aching like hell as Luffy takes them both in his hand and presses them together, so much that he's about to beg him to get on with it through gritted teeth. It's been far too long since anyone touched him, and his earlier attempts to find some relief just ended in disappointment and sadness. He lets out a long groan as Luffy makes the slightest movement and starts to grind his hips against Zoro's. 

Zoro responds in turn, shoving his hips up to meet Luffy’s in uncoordinated, desperate movements, wanting to feel as much of his body as he can.

"Motherfucker-!" Zoro yelps, as a sudden spasm of pain shoots over his hip. He clamps a hand over his mouth and scowls at the chuckle Luffy makes.

"Relax, Zoro. Let me do the work."

He forces himself to ease back onto the pillows and breathe, letting his thighs part a little wider as Luffy takes his time finding a rhythm. His hips rolling in a languid wave motion that would be ungodly levels of sexy… If he didn’t mutter 'woops' every time he slipped off and had to pause to readjust.

Zoro huffs out a chuckle the third or so time Luffy prods him in the thigh. He closes his eye and listens to the hiss of rain and the sounds of cars driving through the wet streets, content to just enjoy the ride as Luffy figures out a rhythm that works for both of them. Soon he finds it, languid yet firm swipes that forces drawn-out groans out of Zoro with every pass.

Luffy's hands snake up his shirt and squeeze over his chest muscles, he bites and sucks roughly down Zoro's neck, but his mouth is soft over his nipples.

He only wishes he had two hands free to fully explore Luffy’s body in return. His hand edges towards the scar on his chest, but the move causes Luffy to look awkward, and he grabs Zoro’s wrist to move it down to his hip instead. He understands, knowing how much of a touchy subject scars can be.

He presses his hand against Luffy's lower back and clings to him as he ups the pace, the rough movements of Luffy’s hips causes Zoro’s wound to protest again, but he doesn’t dare tell Luffy to slow down, not when he’s so close.

Zoro soon shudders apart, the pleasure and the pain colliding until he's not sure which one is making him cry out louder. He knows he’s making too much noise, a hurried reflexive mutter of “fuck fuck fuck fuck!” at the pain, mixed with Luffy’s name. 

His head is still spinning a little when he looks up and Luffy is still hard and staring at him with bright pink cheeks. Zoro hurries to touch him, however clumsily with his left being out of commission, but he still manages to make Luffy gasp and arch his back when he swipes his thumb over his tip. He looks like a beautiful wreck with his hair hanging in his face as he rocks into Zoro’s hand. He comes with a little mutter of "Zoro…" adding to the mess covering his stomach. Zoro hums with satisfaction as he licks the taste of him from his palm and smiles. “Where… did that come from?” 

"I thought you might be less grumpy if you came." Luffy says with a lazy stretch, smirking at the angry growl Zoro makes in response.

Zoro puts his foot to Luffy's chest and sends him rocketing backwards off the bed with a yelp. His scowling face soon reappears poking up over the side of the bed as he clambers upright. "HEY! You don’t show me _no_ appreciation around here!"

Zoro laughs as Luffy storms off to the bathroom, coming back to whip a damp washcloth at his head. Zoro cleans himself up, while Luffy does a bad job of pretending to be mad at him, with his arms folded over his chest and his nose in the air.

“You’re such a jerk Zoro.”

He tosses the cloth aside and wraps an arm around Luffy’s waist. "Hey… thanks. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, really."

“Hmph…”  
“I mean it, I don’t know what I would have done without you these past couple of weeks.”

He can pretend all he wants, but Luffy is terrible at acting. Zoro can see the blush and the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, the smile that he kisses until he's grinning against Zoro's mouth. 

"Não é nada."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rewrite completed 05/10/2019  
> I’m gonna be transparent and say that someone I know irl found my writing (without my permission) and had a hearty laugh at a scene I was already not that proud of. It put me in a pretty dark place and I considered deleting my whole ao3 presence WHICH ISN’T GOOD OBVIOUSLY so I thought I’d change it just for my own sanity. If you had any delusions that I had a clue what I was doing regarding writing sex scenes back then well… I DIDN’T. I'm booboo the fool.  
> Anyway… I’m over it fam. Sorry if you enjoyed the original part but yeah I’m… I’m not putting it back. I wanted the first time Luffy and Zoro fucked to be more focused on the emotions, a little cuter and more in character I guess. The mood of the old scene was uhh, well, let's just forget about it, shall we?
> 
> Also side note, I think it was amusing how many people thought the story was done at this point? Maybe my fault for routinely not putting ‘?’ At the end of the chapter number but still. Nope, they fucked, show’s over - get out. Those tickets are NOT refundable sorry.  
> (I’m just kidding I love y’all thanks for reading.)


	4. Wildcard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bar-man with self-sacrificial tendencies has someone he needs to save.  
> Luffy made a promise, and it threatens to tear him apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought I was done tormenting Zoro, you’d be wrong. But now it's also Luffy's time to go through the wringer! Minor character death CW, as well as slight abuse of prescription medicine and mild violence.  
> This first part takes place during/after the end of chapter 2, so you may want a refresher. You may think I'm cheating by switching POVs at this point, but I have a good explanation…
> 
> WILDCARD!!! YEEEEEEEHAW!
> 
> Edit: 03/03/2020  
> Expanded a bit on a couple of conversations because some shit made absolutely no gotdang sense. Idk how I rolled it out in that condition honestly.

_A few weeks ago_

 

Sanji knew the cop would mean trouble, right from the word go.

From the moment he walked into Sanji’s bar, something about that dyed green hair and that bitchy expression on his face told him they weren’t going to get along. Maybe the green hair reminded him of his brother Yonji and awoke some repressed memories, maybe he said the chicken was dry, or maybe some people were just destined to not get along.

 

The cigarette in Sanji’s mouth is uncomfortably warm as it burns down too close to the filter, while a long snake of ash droops down and collapses onto his blazer. He tosses the stub into the ashtray and presses a fresh one into his mouth right away. He absently flicks the wheel on his gold plated lighter as he watches the scene playing out in front of him. He's sat in his parked car in a dark alleyway between two warehouses and he has the awful feeling someone is about to get killed.

Beads of sweat form on his brow as he watches them drag the cop out of the car.

“We brought him like you said sir.” the woman says. The cop lifts his pale face and shows his teeth as they put bundle Gin into the trunk of a black SUV.

“Don’t- Don’t fucking hurt him!” the cop snarls, covered in blood and puke and pale as death. There's an awful sound of knuckles on skin as the black-bearded guy backhands him into the ground. 

Sanji isn’t here for the cop, and yet his hand goes to his pocket to pull out his cell phone.

“All Blue Police Department, what is your emergency?”

“Hello, I’m near the docks at Mock Town and there’s a cop about to be killed.”

“Sir, could you tell me your name?”

“Wharf six. He’s bleeding pretty bad, so you better get here soon.”

“Sir-”

He hangs up and shoves the phone back into his coat. When he turns his attention back to the scene in front of him, his stomach twists. The cop is making these awful guttural screams as Mihawk presses a sword to his face. Sanji feels sick, but he can’t look away at the same time. He expected them to shoot the guy and have it over with, but this?

It’s almost a relief when the cop lies still and silent, only the shuddering heaving of his chest showing that he’s still alive. Once Mihawk walks away and gets into the car, Sanji quietly starts up his car's engine and waits until they move off. He rolls the car slowly out of the alleyway and casts one more glance at the cop on the floor, he’s barely moving anymore. Sanji feels a slight tremble of guilt for leaving him lying there.

_I’ve done all I can for you, got someone else to save._

 

Sanji presses his foot to the accelerator before he loses sight of the black SUV. He has no idea what he’s expecting to do when he catches up to them, get shot maybe?

He knew Gin had gotten himself into a bad situation, but not anything like this.

The SUV goes straight through an amber light and Sanji slows down, not wanting to attract any attention.

They head for the highway that curves over the city and Sanji curses as he puts his foot to the pedal to follow them. The SUV is already going way over the speed limit. His brain works at a thousand miles an hour to figure out how he’s going to stop them.

If he accidentally hits the trunk, Gin is fucked. If he makes the other car roll, Gin is fucked. If he attracts the attention of any cops well… He doesn’t want that to happen either.

Sanji pulls so hard on his cigarette that his lungs burn and a spasm hits his chest. He resists the urge to cough and turns the car onto the highway. 

His foot closes down on the pedal, fifty miles an hour, sixty, ninety....

The front of his car nudges the back of the SUV as he tries to pull them into a spin. His speedster is too light to make them do anymore than weave a little on the road.

They’ve definitely noticed him now, no going back.

He guns the engine to catch up with them and locks eyes with the big guy at the wheel. He can’t see his expression under his sunglasses, but his mouth twists into a slight grimace.

Sanji banks hard to the left and there’s a dreadful squeal of metal on metal, a smell of burning rubber as the driver tries to keep the car from skidding into the middle lane divider.

Sanji yelps out a small ‘shit!’ and ducks as the driver pulls out a gun. He can hear the glass of his window shattering inches above his head and swears he feels the thrum as one passes by his ear.

The SUV starts to get further away as he loses control and struggles to keep the car straight. 

He mutters a curse and slams his foot back on the accelerator, the speedster whines in protest and the tyres squeal as he gets it back up to speed. The thirty-thousand dollar dick extension is finally good for something. The highway rushes past and he’s knocked back into his seat as he pushes way past the speed limit. A few cars lay on their horns as he rushes past, but the speed he’s at he hears nothing more than a brief howl.

The highway curves back down towards ground level as they reach the city limits, the concrete barrier replaced with metal ones. The SUV switches lanes so they’re in front of him now

This time he makes sure he’s well ahead of them before cutting them off and slams into them from the right.

This time there’s a resounding crash and screaming of tortured metal, the SUV is crushed against the barrier as Sanji slams on the brakes. It’s mating ritual of cars, metal on metal, another crash as Sanji’s car flips onto its side.

 

Everything goes black, a brief pit of unconsciousness.

 

Then, Sanji snaps his head back up with a gasp. 

His arms are trembling and feel detached from him as they shove the airbag out of the way. Everything from his spinal column down to his knees feels jellified as he clambers out his car. His head hurts, but he can still walk, maybe run if he has to. That’s good, he only has to keep going long enough to get Gin and get the fuck out of here.

As he looks at the tangled mess of wheels, glass and metal, Sanji wonders how he got out of there alive. The other car’s engine is on fire and his shoes crunch on a bed of broken glass. Adrenaline is pumping through him so hard he feels lightheaded, the borders of his vision edged with white.

The other car is tangled in the barrier, windscreen full of hairline cracks and a small fire burning in the engine. The driver is slumped against the wheel and Sanji hopes he stays that way.

_Guess his airbag was faulty... Tough shit, asshole._

He spits out his cigarette stub at him, which has somehow managed to stay in his mouth this entire time.

He can’t see through the tinted rear windows, but the thought of Mihawk possibly being awake hastens his steps around the car to the trunk. He can hear screaming coming from inside, raw and mindless.

“HEY! IS ANYONE OUT THERE?! _HELP!”_

The catch on the trunk is stuck or locked when he tries to open it, but gives way when Sanji kicks it. Gin is curled up inside. He’s cringing, rattled and bruised, but his battered face collapses in relief when he looks up.

“Sanji…!”

“We have to go, hurry!”

Sanji offers him an arm and he helps the trembling man out of the trunk. Some people in the cars behind the wreck are getting out, shouting concerns. Sanji grabs Gin’s wrist and heads for the thin strip of trees next to the road.

“Where are we going?”

“Shit if I know!”

Sanji pulls him down the grassy bank towards the trees. A bullet thuds into the ground right on his heels and Sanji turns around. Mihawk is standing at the top of the bank with blood all over his face, silhouetted against the burning cars.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_

“Come on!”

Sanji yanks on Gin’s wrist and pulls him into the trees, a gunshot blasts apart the limb of a tree above his head and the branches scratch at his face. He breaks into a run even though various parts of his body scream with pain, only praying that Gin can keep up the pace.

They’re out of the trees and halfway down the beach before Sanji has the courage to look back. Behind him the sky is darkening to a stormy payne’s grey, but there’s no longer anyone silhouetted against it. Sanji allows himself to breathe as they limp down the beach.

The adrenaline slowly starts to wear off and Sanji realises how badly he’s been hurt, his vision is blurring and something in his leg screams when he puts pressure on it. Walking down the ugly scrap of coastline takes a lifetime. Still, he forces himself to walk further down the beach to a place he knows their footsteps will be washed away by the tide.

 

When they get to the dark beach house, Sanji realizes a phenomenal fucking problem. 

Dad didn’t give him a key for this very reason. 

“Gin, give me your shoulder for a sec.”  
He leans on his bad leg despite the pain, then gives the door a kick that makes pain shoot throughout his whole body. Lucky for him, the lock is flimsy and it gives way on the second kick. The alarm wails, but at least he knows the code to shut it up.

Dad is going to be pissed, but it’s the least of his worries right now.

He slumps into Dad’s favourite recliner, wondering if he would even have the energy to run if Mihawk came banging door the door right now.  
“What were you thinking man?” Gin says, his lips parted and his chest heaving.  
Sanji shoves a cigarette in his mouth from his crumpled packet and lights it with bloody hands, after thinking for a moment, he offers Gin one too.

“I was thinkin’ that if I didn’t try it, you would be dead. Nothin’ to lose from trying.”

“Apart from your life? Jesus, Sanji…”

He loses the energy to hold onto his cigarette and it falls stinging-hot onto the front of his shirt. "That's _Mr. Prince_ to you." Sanji mutters.

Then he passes out.

 

* * *

 

Sanji wakes to a fresh hole burned in his suit and his phone buzzing madly. When he picks it up there’s six missed calls, all from Luffy. When he sits up, he groans. His head is throbbing and his body feels stiff all over. Gin is asleep on the couch, though Sanji’s cigarette seems to have moved from his chest to a nearby ashtray. 

He picks up the phone, “Luffy, listen to me-”

“ _SANJI!_ I just pulled your car - your fucking car! - off the highway!” Luffy’s voice bellows so loud he has to move the phone away from his ear.

“Luffy, listen! I-”  
“I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO FIND YOU _DEAD_ INSIDE THAT CAR! Tell me where you are, right now!”  
“I can’t do that right now- _Listen to me Luffy._ You have to keep your mouth _shut_ , do not tell anyone you spoke to me. I have Gin with me, we're both a little banged up.”

“Gin? Is that what this is about?!”

“He’s a witness to a murder, Luffy. I’m going to help him get out of town but… I just- I needed a place to rest for a bit.”

“Where are you?”

Sanji sighs and rubs at his temples.  “Dad’s beach house. Don’t-”

Luffy hangs up and Sanji groans. 

 

Not long later, there's a pounding at the front door and Sanji waves Luffy around to the back. With his black hood pulled down over his head he looks sinister, almost like a house thief as he barges in. When he pulls it down, his black hair is hanging in sodden ropes around his face. The look on his face is unreadable, Sanji wonders if he's about to deck him as he strides his way. Instead, he grabs the back of Sanji’s head and presses their foreheads together.

“I’m sorry.” Sanji says weakly. Luffy stares him down, dark eyes full of storm and black brows furrowed. He feels an agitated puff of breath brush his face.

“ _Dumbass.”_ Luffy growls.

“Hey Luffy.” Gin says, giving him a nervous smile. Luffy walks over to him with his arms folded over his chest and his muscles bulging under his soaked shirt.

“You’re causing my friend trouble, _again.”_

“Leave him alone Luffy, he’s had a bad time.” Sanji says.

“I’m going straight if I make it out of this,” Gin says, biting his lip, “you’ll never have to see me again. Don Krieg is dead… there’s nothing left for me here.”

Luffy gives him another scowl before he pulls his backpack from his shoulders. He moves to the kitchen counter and tips out the contents, a first-aid kit, some food and a few bottles of water. Sanji's lip twists at the presence of instant ramen. Luffy catches his look of disgust and scowls at him. "It was all I had. If you whine about it, I'm going to kick your ass."

Sanji wants to laugh at himself. He used to eat food out the garbage, and now he's turning his nose up at ramen? 

_I've gotten soft, too used to the finer things._

“So… you were on call today?” Sanji says, pulling a hand through his tangled hair.

Luffy’s expression is dark as he parks himself on one of the stools at the counter.

“Yep.” he says stiffly, “The driver was dead when we got there, they think he was at least unconscious before the fire started."

Sanji takes a minute to light a cigarette and stare blankly at a wall, he’s not sure how he feels about that. “You’re not going to tell anyone it was me, right? 

Luffy scowls and bounces his leg up and down, he is not the person you go to for secret-keeping. 

“Fine. But you’re still a dickhead.”

“I already knew that.” Sanji takes a deep breath, “Uh, Luffy if anything happens to me, could you tell Ace I…”

He sighs, turning his head so the others don’t see the heat rising to his face. He clenches his fists and something twinges, he feels like he might have broken something.

“Tell him… Tell him- shit…”

“Why should I tell him anything?! You can tell him yourself when you get back!"

“Don’t be a fuckin’ baby about this Luffy!” Sanji snarls, ignoring the reproachful look he gives him in return.

He presses a hand to his forehead, raising his voice made him feel dizzy. “Just forget it, maybe it’s better off he doesn’t know. Don’t tell anyone you saw me.”

“You’re asking me to lie to my brother?”

“If Gin gets out of here with only me ending up dead, I’ll consider that a win. If Ace and Sabo get dragged into it too…”

Luffy gets up and takes his hand. “We’re your family Sanji, your trouble is our trouble.”

Sanji prods him in the chest. "Not this time it fucking isn’t. Just keep your head down, yeah?"

Luffy gets up and carefully slips his arms around Sanji’s waist. He knows he’s trying to be gentle, but something in his ribs grinds together and he groans in pain. There’s a different kind of ache he feels when he thinks about the possibility of never seeing Luffy’s goofy face ever again.

“Don’t die, Sanji.”

 

* * *

  
  


_Back in the present…_

  
  


"He was a goat farmer, right?"

"What?"

"Billy the Kid. A Kid is a baby goat. A Billy is a boy goat."

"No he wasn't, he was an outlaw and he died young. That's why they called him the Kid."

"Oh my god…"

"Are you telling me you watched cowboy movies your whole life and thought Billy the Kid was a goat farmer?"

Luffy’s hand drops back to lazily swat Zoro in the face.

"Leave me alone."

Zoro chuckles and grabs his wrist, lightly pressing his lips to his knuckles. The noise of the old western on the TV and Luffy’s weight in his lap has him completely relaxed. That, and being absolutely stoned on pain medication. The fact that they slept together last night probably helps too. For the first time in a while… he’s happy. Zoro idly kisses each of Luffy’s knuckles in turn, staring at the TV but not really paying attention to it, more to the way he can feel Luffy sigh contentedly against his chest. 

Of course Zoro’s phone has to start ringing and spoil it.

It rattles in the pile of loose change and empty pill packets on the coffee table. Zoro reaches over to try and grab it, thinking about just muting it and dealing with it later, but Luffy lunges off the couch and snatches it first.

"Tashigi…"  he says slowly, reading out the name on the caller ID.

"That's my partner, give it here."

Luffy scowls at him, holding the phone out of his reach, "You shouldn't be thinking about work."

"Just give it!" Zoro reaches forward to snatch the phone from his hand, ignoring Luffy when he folds his arms and sticks out his lower lip.

“Shigs, been a while.”

“Hey Zoro. I know you’re still on leave, but I thought I should fill you in on what’s been happening with the case... Only if you’re ready though.”

“What is it?”

“While you were still in hospital, there was a crash on the highway and… Vergo was found dead behind the wheel.”

Zoro jerks upright, nearly smacking his forehead against Luffy as he does so. “What?!”

“The body was burned, but it was definitely him. And get this; the other car was registered to Sanji, the barman.

"Sanji…? That fucking…”

"I put out a search for him, but it's like the guy turned into smoke. No sign of Mihawk either. We got shell casings and footprints leading away to the beach but no Gin... I don’t know what’s going on but, there’s at least a chance Gin could still be alive.”

Zoro breathes out heavily.

“ _Shit_ …”

“I don’t want to ask too much from you while you’re still recovering, but I really need you back at work. You’ve yet to give your official report on- on what happened back there.”

His breath puffs against the phone as he thinks. He wants to go back, but it’s so easy to just lie around on the couch and pretend the case doesn’t exist.  
 _Mihawk is still out there somewhere..._  
The thought makes him feel cold from his head to his toes. He feels like most of his conversations with the therapist end up going back to the man.

“I’ll make my way over when… when I can. Keep an eye out for anyone acting suspicious at the station, Shigs. Mihawk might be using them to try and track down Gin.”

Tashigi huffs out a bitter, mildly hysterical laugh. “Believe me, I haven’t been fully relaxed here for weeks. 

"Stay safe, okay?”

When he hangs up and shoves his phone back in his pocket, Luffy is looking at him like he just saw a ghost.

“You okay? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Zoro wonders if his shitty vision is playing up, but he swears Luffy’s cheeks are paler than usual.  
“I uh… I have to go.” Luffy scrambles off the couch and quickly slips into his sandals. The pain medication makes Zoro too dopey to react for a few moments, as he simply stares after Luffy as he heads out the door.

Luffy is getting into the elevator by the time Zoro manages to limp down the hallway. He catches the doors just before they close the entire way. “What’s gotten into you?”

Zoro pushes the doors open and squeezes into the elevator. Luffy is staring at the back of the elevator, with his arms hugged around himself.

“I-I’m sorry, this just isn’t right.”

Zoro strokes Luffy’s arm and tries to get him to turn around, but the guy won’t even look at him. The elevator stops a few floors from the lobby and Luffy barges out between the two people trying to come in.

“Luffy! Will you just _talk_ to me, what’s wrong?” Zoro yells after him.

He escapes in the direction of the stairwell and Zoro curses, in no mood to deal with stairs or whatever the hell this conversation is. He winces as he takes the steps a little heavily and pain shoots through his hip.

"I can't tell you, I made a promise!"

"What promise?"

Luffy finally looks at him, his cheeks dark with flush. He jabs a finger at Zoro. "You… I told you, you shouldn't be thinking about work anyway! You're hurt. Just… go back upstairs, _please."_

"Luffy if you know something…"

"No, I _don't_!"

Zoro grabs a hold of the sleeve of Luffy’s hoodie to try and stop his hurried march towards the door, but only succeeds in getting dragged after him. He didn’t have time to put on shoes and he can’t get any purchase on the tiled floor in his socks.

"Sanji made me promise, so-"

The name sends his blood pressure spiking."That shitty cook made you promise _what?_ "

Luffy winces and mutters a sad little 'crap…'.

“He made me promise to not… tell the cops where he went. Not just you guys, but all our friends too. He said… That you already screwed up and nearly got Gin killed. That he had to take matters into his own hands.”

Zoro stares at him in open-mouthed outrage, not even knowing what to say. He slowly lets go of Luffy’s sleeve.

Luffy raises his hands in a supplicating gesture. “H-hey those were _his_ words, not mine!”

“But…” Luffy presses his lips together, like he’s trying really, _really_ hard not to say what he says next. “But wasn’t he kind of right? N-not about you screwing up but, he had to do something to help that Gin dude, right?” He looks away and quickly rakes a hand through his hair. “...Fuck, Zoro please say _something!”_

“You lied to me then?”

“I didn’t _lie!_ It was a _promise!_ Friends keep their promises!”

The fact that Luffy stayed at Zoro’s house, took care of him this whole time while hiding something this huge upsets him on so many levels. 

“So, you sleeping with me last night... what was that, some kind of _distraction_?!”

“No!” Luffy’s shouts, genuinely furious now. “How could you fucking say something like that?! I slept with you because I _like_ you, estúpido!”

He winces as Luffy flicks him in the forehead, knowing that was probably a step too far as soon as he said it. He’s too worked up to think. “This happened while I was in hospital. When did that cook tell you all this?!”

Luffy cringes and takes a few more edging steps towards the door. “I've already said too much, Zoro…"

He grabs Luffy’s hand and squeezes it hard. “Luffy please _listen_ to me! Mihawk almost killed me once - before this, before I met you. I _know_ what I’m getting into. I don’t care about the danger, I _have_ to take him down! More people could end up dead… I _can’t_ let that happen!”

Luffy is quiet for a few moments, looking at him in deep thought. “This is really important to you.”

“This is the whole reason I became a cop - stopping people like him.”  
Luffy shakes his head as he pulls his hand out of Zoro’s. He quickly scrubs his hands over his face. “Zoro, don’t get me wrong, you’re one of the bravest people I know-”

_Bravery and stupidity often seem to overlap._

“-But I’m _not_ going to let you get killed!”

Zoro opens his mouth and steps forward, several more angry words at the ready. Assurances that he’s not a child, that this is his _job,_ but the set look on Luffy’s face stops him. He grabs Zoro by the front of his shirt and herds him towards the elevator.

“Go back upstairs.”

“H-hey!” Zoro yelps as Luffy presses the doors open and shoves him inside. The doors slide home and he sees Luffy glance at him one more time as he walks away. Luffy can’t seem to look him in the eye.

The light jolt of the elevator going up is enough to knock Zoro off his feet. He presses himself against the back wall and tries to catch his breath, but his head is spinning.

_What just happened?_

 

* * *

 

Ace is the best big brother anyone could ask for. When he lets Luffy into his apartment, he doesn’t bombard him with hugs or questions, he just lets him faceplant on his couch without saying a word.

When he gets up, there’s a snack and a cup of tea waiting on the table. He tears into the packet of fudge-covered pretzels and his spirits lift a little - not a lot, but a little.

“Been a while, Loof.” Ace says.

Luffy grunts over his mouthful of pretzels. He can’t stop replaying the argument over and over in his head and curses himself for being rough with Zoro. The look of hurt and bewilderment in his friend’s face as the elevator door closed on him is stuck in his memory. Ace reaches down to grab a handful of pretzels and Luffy doesn’t even have the energy to fight him over it. He gives his brother a glum look as he realises he can’t even talk to him about what happened.

_Goddamnit Sanji._

Ace’s shaggy head pops over the back of the couch and he looks down at Luffy with a grin. His hair has gotten so long since Luffy last saw him, tumbling in wavy strands over his face and escaping from his ponytail. His beads clack as they fall down to hang around his neck.

“What’s up? The ice cream machine at Pudding’s Place broken again?”

Luffy shoots him a withering look. Normally he wouldn’t be wrong, but he wishes ice cream was the biggest of his troubles right now.

“No… I met this guy…”

He tells Ace about Zoro. The way his green hair caught his eye and the flickering lights of fire catching on his gold earrings. His adorable lack of direction sense, his cool bike, the hilariously awkward first kiss Zoro stole at the club, that he’d laughed about with Usopp right after.

Then the absolute crushing panic he had felt when Usopp phoned him and told him his cool new friend was laying in a hospital bed just a day or two later.

“Wow! So, you’re going out with him?”

“I dunno, we just had a huge fight. He probably hates me now.”  
 _Or he’s scared of me._

Luffy doesn’t know which is worse.

Ace vaults over the couch and puts his feet up on the coffee table.

“Why this guy all of a sudden? No offence little bro, but I thought you had as much interest in relationships as you did with trigonometry.”

That’s the thing that adds a whole new level of confusion to his situation. He doesn’t care about romance, not usually anyway. While Sabo went out with his girlfriend, or Ace made out with Sanji in the other room thinking no-one would notice, Luffy would be sat in his room playing video games. He had been aware from the day he met Zoro that all his blushing and long, lingering looks meant he liked Luffy in a more-than-a-friend kind of way. Then that one dumb kiss had set off a slow buildup of weird feelings Luffy has no idea what to do with. 

He shrugs. “It’s different with him.”

His brother gives him a scrutinising look and a flush creeps into his face. He doesn’t know how he feels about discussing this sort of thing with his brother. Hell, he doesn’t know how he feels about it in general.

“So he’s a cop huh? Remember when Grandpa always wanted us to join the police force?”  
“How could I forget?” Luffy says with a derisive snort. It never seemed to occur to gramps how teaching them to respect authority by yelling at them and smacking them around made them want to do the exact opposite.

“Are you getting Freudian on me Luffy? You know they say everyone ends up marrying their parents.”  
“Kiss my ass.” Luffy falls backwards onto the couch with a groan, not bothering to even ask who Freud is.  
“Can I meet him?”  
Luffy shoves a finger into his ear and makes squeaking sounds as he itches it up and down.

“Now isn’t the best time, Ace.”

“Alright, I’m sorry… Look, I know it's rough when you first fall in love with someone-"

The word ‘love’ makes Luffy jolt and all these strange new feelings reach up and smack him in the face again. "Wha- who says I'm in love with him?!" 

"Okay you're… _whatever_ but, in a relationship you've gotta compromise, meet him halfway. Be the bigger man and go apologise first, yanno?" 

Luffy pouts at him. "Are you sure _you're_ the right person to be lecturing me about relationships?" 

 _"Hey.”_ Ace looks daggers at him. “Low blow.” 

Luffy rolls into the couch, trying to indicate he doesn’t want to continue this conversation. 

“...Can I borrow your phone? I at least want to know what kind of guy Zoro is.” 

“No, Ace. Stop being nosy!”

He feels his phone being carefully lifted out of his back pocket, with all the practiced grace of a childhood spent lifting wallets, and Luffy kicks his brother in the face. “Pare, _dickhead_!”

“I’m just-” Ace grunts trying to prise his sandal off his face. “-Looking out for my darling, _dipshit_ baby brother!”

“You don’t _need_ to look out for me, I’m fine!”

He’s considerably less fine when Ace jumps on top of him and puts him in a leg-lock. “Oh yeah? Prove it.”

 _“GAH!”_ Luffy growls as he tries to wriggle out of Ace’s grip, wondering how it is that he’s twenty-six years old and _still_ getting his ass kicked by his older brother.  
  
  


* * *

 

“Zoro?” Tashigi says.

He jolts, the voice coming from his blind side. Another unprecedented thing about losing an eye he’s realised is that he has to listen harder with his left ear, to avoid bumping into people in crowds. Maybe it’s psychosomatic, but he feels like his hearing is sharper as a result. On the flipside, every unexpected sound or presence scares the shit out of him. He has to turn his whole head to look at her.

“Huh?” Zoro says thickly.

“I asked if you were okay.”

“Oh.”

They’re standing in the parking lot in front of the station, not far from the spot where Vergo and Monet first tried to blackmail him into giving up the case. It’s a strange thing to wonder, if he’d still have two eyes if he’d given in to them.

“We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.” Tashigi says. 

“It’s fine, really.”

Zoro puts his head down and strides towards the doors, making Tashigi walk twice as fast to keep up with him.

The pale blue tiles of the ABPD feel strange as he walks down the corridors, unfamiliar and alien, like he’s stepping into a wasp’s nest.

In the upstairs corridor, he feels a pair of gold-green eyes on him and sees Monet leaning against a wall. She smiles at him like she were any other co-worker, and not someone who had attempted to murder him a few weeks ago.

"Welcome back, _detective_."

His hand reflexively clutches around the bottle of pills in his coat pocket, he has to shut his eye for a few seconds to collect himself.

"So sorry about what happened to your partner, _lieutenant_." He gives an overly formal bow, while not taking his eye off her for a second.

Monet’s smile falters for a second, her eyes narrow coldly.

“You’re too kind.”

She steps towards him a little too fast for his liking and he instinctively takes a step back. 

"Wasn’t there another death lately? I think his name was Roronoa Zoro. He used to be a pretty skilled detective, before they scraped what was left of him off the wharf."

She grins at him, sharp and predatory before she moves away. Sweat is soaking through his once clean shirt by the time she’s gone. Tashigi's hand slips into his and gives him a quick squeeze. 

"Don't worry, Zoro. By the time this is over we’ll have her _and_ Mihawk in custody.” she says quietly.

As they walk into the office, he finds himself unable to let go of her hand.

 

Tashigi’s desk is absolutely piled with report books, stacks of paper and old coffee cups, it’s so unlike her usually precise neatness that it makes Zoro’s jaw drop. She grabs a report teetering on the top of the pile and takes it over to Zoro’s desk instead. His is mostly empty except for a few get well soon cards.

He spreads out the report, the first thing he notices is the time frame. Late afternoon, the same day as when… Zoro has to swallow back the bile taste at the back of his throat.

“There were a lot of witnesses, they saw the other driver getting out of the car, but most of them ran when the shooting started.”

Zoro flicks between the pictures of the blackened husks of the cars, the bullets with number tags next to them, a few broken branches.  
When he gets to the pictures of the burnt body at the wheel, he has to stop and look away. 

“S-so uh… If this is the shitty barman’s car… What are we thinking, that he caused the crash?” Zoro says, pretending to be focused on the license plates while hiding the gory images under the report book.

“That’s what I’ve been thinking, but if that’s the case, I’m surprised he got out unharmed. We found a few cigarette butts but no blood or anything.”

_‘Sanji made me promise so…’_

“Shit!” he snarls so vehemently that Tashigi jumps a little. His hand is shaking too much to hold onto the photos any longer.

"W-what is it?”

He can’t tell her what Luffy said, if he kept the information from him to keep Sanji and Gin safe. Even in the office Zoro can feel eyes digging into him from all sides, some looking sympathetically at his injuries, others just staring for the sake of it. He can’t lie to Tashigi, but what fucking choice does he have? Who the hell even knew what kind of danger the shitty cook is in now after running Mihawk off the road and causing Vergo’s death.

Zoro has to lean on the desk, Tashigi puts her arms out as if she’s worried he might fall over.

"I'm not feeling up to this after all Shigs, I'm sorry."

"Oh.. that's fine. You want to take the report with you?'

"S-sure…"

"Take it easy Zoro."

Tashigi’s hand curls into his shoulder, but he can’t seem to look her in the eye.

 

* * *

 

Back at home, he spreads out the Don Krieg file on the desk in his bedroom. It’s a little early to take his medication, but he can’t think of another way to calm the shaking in his hands.

The next thing he knows, he’s waking up with droplets of drool all over the report and a dent in his cheek from where his face has been resting on his knuckles. Over medicating isn’t the best idea he’s had all day. It’s gotten dark out, and the room is bathed in a deep orange glow from the streetlights outside. 

There’s a buzzing coming from underneath the pile of paper and photographs on his desk. When he fumbles his phone out from under it, the caller ID says it’s coming from Luffy. He debates with himself, but grabs it before it goes to the last few rings.

"Howdy, is this Zoro?" A voice that is distinctly not Luffy says, “Yo, is anyone there?”

"Who is this?”

“Sorry, that was rude of me not to introduce myself. My name’s Ace, I’m Luffy’s brother.”

“He… didn’t tell me he had a brother. How did you get his phone?”

“Stole it. Look man, I don’t want to come on too strong or anything, but I get a little overprotective when I see him upset. He told me you had a fight, but he wouldn’t talk to me about it.”

Zoro pinches the bridge of his nose. “It’s… complicated. Do you know a guy called Sanji?”  
Ace is silent for some time, before suddenly blurting out an answer, “W-why, is he in trouble?”  
“He might be. Officially he’s on the missing person’s register, no-one’s seen him in almost three weeks. You’re close with him?”

“Y-yeah... known him since we were teenagers. Me and my brothers sorta picked him up off the street, he was in a bad spot with his family before he ran away from home.”

“So, you know how we could contact him?”

Ace puffs a bitter laugh into the phone. “No, we had a fight a couple years back. Haven’t seen him since. He stopped answering my calls long ago.”

Zoro leans back in his chair, disappointed.

“This trouble,” Ace continues, “how bad is it exactly?”

He debates telling someone he doesn’t know important details about the case, but something about Ace seems so open and honest.

“If he’s not hurt already, he’s messed with the wrong people.”

“I want to help you find him, what can I do?”

“Get your brother to tell me what he knows.”

“Oh. That’s easier said than done. I’d also like to apologize if he scared you in any way, I know he can come off a little…”  
“Intense?” Zoro says wryly, realising how much he misses him already.  
“Yeah, to say the least.” Ace laughs. “Come meet me at my car shop tomorrow around five. I’ll see what I can do.”

 

* * *

 

“I can’t _believe_ you stole my phone.”

“What was I s’posed to do? You wouldn’t talk to me.” Ace’s voice is muffled as he responds.

His blue-jumpsuit clad legs are the only part of him Luffy can see as he works on the underside of his pride and joy; his red pick-up truck. The doors of the garage are all shut, except for one, which is left half-open. The sign on the customer entrance is turned to the side that says ‘go away’ in felt-tip pen.

“Anyway, Zoro seems nice!” Ace continues cheerfully, Luffy aims a half-hearted kick at his shins. “Give it back.”

“Nuh-uh. Because I just invited him over and I don’t want you running off.”

“I was gonna go apologize when I was _ready!_  

“Sure you were, because you totally aren’t a stubborn tool.”

Luffy scowls at him, despite the fact that Ace can’t see his face. “I’m not a kid anymore, Ace.” he says, at the same time wondering whether to go and smear boogers on his steering wheel. 

“Wrong, actually,” he pushes himself out from underneath the truck and grins as he wipes his hands on a rag, “You’ll always be a kid to me.”

Luffy growls and gives him another kick, this time aiming for his dumb face. Ace easily catches his shoe in one hand as he checks his watch.

“Zoro should be here by now, I closed up an hour ago.”

“He probably got lost, I’ll go and look for ‘im.”

Luffy ducks under the garage door, at least glad to be moving around. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and heads out of the parking lot. His stomach twists itself into knots as he thinks about what he’s going to say to Zoro… if the man hasn’t gotten himself lost in the gutter somewhere.

He starts humming a small song under his breath, partly to distract himself from the nervous energy buzzing through him.

“Zoro, where’d you _go_ , Zoro where’d you _gooo_ …”

A car drives up behind him and the high beams throw his shadow long in front of him. He makes a right turn and walks quickly away, but he soon finds the same white light bathing his feet again.

“Zoro, your head looks like a... _Saguaro_ , oh Zorooo…”

He glances behind him as the car comes to a sudden stop. He ducks down a narrow alley and sprints down it as fast as he can. There’s a dumpster against a chain link fence which he clambers over and uses to vault the fence. He steps out onto the main street and pauses to brush himself off. When he looks back down the alleyway, there’s no-one there.

_That was weird._

He finds Zoro looking cold and confused at a totally different mechanic shop a few blocks away, wrapped in a huge green cargo jacket. He's squinting down his glasses at a crumpled piece of paper with a bunch of squiggly characters drawn on it. It was probably Japanese at some point, but with Zoro’s handwriting it looks more like random lines.

“Oh, Zoro!” Luffy yells and runs to join him under the dull glow of the streetlight. A rush of affection surges through Luffy as Zoro takes off his glasses to look at him, but it gets so mixed up with guilt that it makes his stomach hurt. “I um… came to find you. Ace's garage is back this way.” he jabs a thumb over his shoulder and Zoro’s brow furrows.

“...I knew that.”

Zoro shoves the paper back into his pocket and is about to walk towards the street where the car was following him. Luffy darts forward to grab his arm, “On second thought, let’s go around the back. This part of town is full ‘o weirdos.”

“You mean like _you?”_ Zoro says savagely under his breath.

He ignores Zoro’s attempts to squirm out of his grip and drags him back towards Ace’s garage. As they walk, he periodically checks over his shoulder, past the grumpy, limping man to search the street beyond. When a car comes slowly around the corner with its high-beams on, he breaks into a run, despite Zoro’s angry yells of protest. He quickly squeezes himself through the broken chain link fence that leads into the garage’s backyard, then sets about dragging Zoro through after him.

“Luffy what are you _doing?”_ _  
_He’s only just managed to get Zoro’s shoulders through when the car approaches and parks, its lights glaring in their faces.

“Oh crap.” Luffy mutters.

He yanks Zoro through the gap and runs towards the back door, frantically dodging old car parts and stray tyres.

 _“ACE!”_ Luffy yells at the darkened door. It’s locked, predictably. Ace probably has his stupid boombox blaring inside. He turns back towards the fence when he hears a loud clatter. Someone breaks the rusty chain keeping it closed and it swings open. The two huge men on the other side stride through. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Zoro slowly backing away. One of the men has a bald head with a unibrow, while the other seems to be wearing an expensive suit with a thick coat draped around his shoulders.

“You...” Zoro says, looking at the Unibrow.

“Are they friends of yours, Zoro?” Luffy says.

“ _Of course they’re not!”_ Zoro bellows back.

After a moment of squinting, Luffy recognizes him as the taxi driver that had scared Zoro half to death. He moves in front of him protectively, “Hey, _back off!”_

Unibrow towers over Luffy by a good foot, the other man is of equal stature. Luffy’s eyes widen at the sight of a hook on the end of his wrist that appears to be made out of solid gold. 

“Luffy, right?” Hook-hand drawls. He pulls out a cigar and cuts it with his teeth before lighting it.

“Yeah, the hell are you?”

Unibrow knocks Luffy aside as he rushes towards Zoro. There’s a sickening thud as the man’s fist collides with Zoro’s face. He throws him into a pile of old car exhausts, tires and breeze-blocks and Zoro wails in pain as the whole thing collapses on him.

 _“ZORO!”_ Luffy screams.

“We’re not interested in him, we want to talk to _you.”_ Unibrow says with a flex of his knuckles. The hook-hand watches with boredom and taps the ash from his cigar, "Where is Sanji Vinsmoke?”

"That's not his name. Why do you want to know?"

"One of our men is dead because of him."

Luffy looks at him with his mouth hanging open and his brow creased.

"I can't tell you where he is, cause he didn't tell me where he was going. You _stupid_ or something?"

Luffy yelps and jumps back as Unibrow swings the hook in a savage arc, cutting a hole straight through his hoodie. Beads of sweat start forming on his forehead as he feels how close it came to cutting his stomach open. The man gives him a slimy grin and puffs cigar smoke at him.

"You won't find Sanji." Luffy says.

"We'll see about that.”

There's a loud clatter as Zoro’s head and shoulders appear from underneath the pile of car exhausts. His teeth are bared and he claws at the ground as he struggles out from underneath.

"Daz, go and keep Roronoa company, will you?"

Unibrow picks up Zoro like he were a ragdoll and starts peeling away the bandage from his eye. He utters a snarl of pain as it unsticks from the wound.

“Oh… Boss Mihawk did some fine work!” Daz says with a sick smile as he tosses the bandage away.

The scar is red and still sore-looking, Luffy can’t imagine how much it hurts him. He wants to look away because he knows damn well Zoro didn’t want him to see it until he was ready.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to him?” Luffy growls and steps towards Zoro, “Leave him _alone_!”

The hook slashes out at his face and a white-hot pain flashes over his scalp.

“Maybe you’d like to lose an eye too?” Hook-hand says, casually flicking a clump of his hair from the tip of his hook. For a moment Luffy cries out in pain and confusion, wondering if he has lost an eye when a trickle of hot blood pours down his face. Luffy swings his fist out with a cry, half-blinded by blood and hot with anger.

In all his fighting classes, the first lesson they ever taught him was to stay calm and breathe. Tension and anger cloud the mind and tunnel the vision, making it harder to focus on your surroundings.

Right now all those lessons fly out of his head, and every tiny cut from the hook makes him angrier. The laugh the hook-handed man makes, this sick little ‘hah hah-hah!’ rings in his ears. Even when Luffy manages to land a punch, it feels like he’s still smiling. 

The curved part of the hook slams against his throat and the man shoves him against the wall of the garage.

“Enough games kid, this is your last chance. Where. Is. Vinsmoke?”

The hook is pressing too hard against his throat for him to answer, even if he had anything different to say. Luffy’s eyes slide over hook-hand’s shoulder to where Zoro is pulling out his gun.

A bright flash cuts through the night as he fires it into Unibrow’s foot. While he’s screaming, Zoro slams his head into the bridge of his nose like a butting ram and blood pours from his nostrils like colourful streamers. For a moment Zoro stares up at the man, covered in so much blood it looks like warpaint and breathing hard. He picks up a piece of broken exhaust pipe and swings it upwards with a yell and finally knocks Unibrow away.

Hook-hand is distracted enough that Luffy can land a low blow at his solar plexus, though the hook rakes over his shoulders as he squirms free.

“ACE!” Luffy cries happily as the back door bangs open and his brother appears, holding a sawed-off shotgun.

“Y’all have about five seconds to get the fuck off my property.” Ace says as he takes aim.

Hook-hand pales slightly and his lip twists, “We will find Vinsmoke, one way or another.” 

Ace cocks the shotgun, “That’s two seconds.”

“It’ll be easier on you if you just-”  
Ace fires a round between hook-hand’s feet. The noise kabooms around the yard so loud that Luffy’s ears start humming.

“Oh shit, I just lost count!”

Ace cocks the gun again, but the men are already running back to their car, the Unibrow holding onto Hook-hand’s shoulder and hopping all the way.

Luffy swipes the stinging blood out of his eyes and blinks up at Ace gratefully. One more reason he’s the best big brother ever. He gestures over to Zoro, who’s also wiping blood off his face.

“So Ace, uh, This is Zoro…”

 

* * *

 

Ace is in full big brother mode as he drags Luffy into his office. He dumps the shotgun on his desk and starts throwing things aside to look for the first-aid kit.

“Ace, I’m fine, it’s not as bad as it looks.”  
“No, you’re _not_ fine! Jesus, Luffy!”

He pulls Luffy into a seat and sends everything left on his desk flying to put the box of medical supplies down. Luffy hisses in pain as he flushes out the wound on his hairline with saline solution.

Zoro limps into the office after them and collapses into a chair with his head hanging down.

“Um, Zoro?” Luffy says, about to ask if he’s alright when he gives him a dismissive wave, blood is trickling over his cheek and he’s trembling all over. Luffy wants so bad to go to him, but Ace is pulling out a needle and thread and holding him firmly in place. He winces and growls with pain as Ace pokes the needle into his skin. 

“Stop complaining, and stay still!”

As Ace works, the stem of blood gradually slows and he’s able to stick a clean square of gauze over the stitches. 

“Where did those guys come from? Luffy, what have I told you when you’re being followed? Rule number one; _don’t come home!”_

“I thought I’d lost them! Then I ran into Zoro and-” He trails off and looks at where Zoro is still trying to desperately catch his breath. 

_It’s my fault he got hurt._

Ace gives him a secret pat when his lower lip starts to tremble.

“So Zoro…” Ace says, “Luffy has told me a lot about you.”

Zoro raises his head, “He has?”

Ace gives him a wry smile, “Yeah, kind of a funny way to meet my brother’s boyfriend for the first time.”  
Zoro’s eye goes wide, pale grey under the fluorescent lights, and a blush creeps into his face. “Boyfriend?” he mutters.

“Is that not right? He was so torn up about you, I assumed you were more than friends.”

“Ace… Stop embarrassing him.” Luffy whines, though a secret part of him is delighted at the way the word sounds. Like Zoro belongs to him alone and no-one else.

Luffy is sweating and ready to scream as Ace finishes up the last stitch on his shoulder.

“Your turn Zoro, come here.”

Zoro winces as Ace dabs at the cut under his eye that broke open in the fight. Luckily most of the blood on his face doesn’t belong to him, and Ace presses a pastel-green band-aid over it. Luffy giggles at the cartoon frogs adorning it, but presses his lips together when Zoro glares at him. 

Ace crosses his arms, his eyes are dark again. “So, what I would like to know is how those two clowns knew how to find you.” 

Zoro shifts uncomfortably and rubs at the bruise blooming on his cheek. “I think I might know… Mihawk, the guy looking for Sanji, he has a lot of cops in his pocket. He could have dug up your personal info through him.”

Ace stares at him with his mouth open. “Jesus… What the hell has he _done_ ?”  
They both turn at once to look at Luffy. He stares hard at a stain in the ceiling and cringes as they stare daggers at him.

“I dunno why you’re lookin’ at me.”

Ace grabs Luffy’s ear and twists hard. He howls with pain and flails to try and break free, but Ace’s grip is stronger than a vice. “Tell. Us.”

“Okay, _fine!_ My team got called out for a car fire on the highway but… it was Sanji’s car, I recognised the license plate. When I called him, he was hiding out somewhere and I brought him and Gin some food. They were pretty banged up. He made me promise not to tell you or anyone else… I’m sorry.”

He gives them his best puppy-dog look, hoping Ace won’t twist his ear again.

“Are you sure he didn’t tell you where he was going?”  
“Yes!”

“ _Luffy_!”

“He said he would see Franky about getting a fake ID made.”

Ace slaps his forehead with his palm and Zoro groans like he’s in pain.

“But that’s it! I promise this time,” Ace and Zoro exchange a glance, “Look, I want to help but Sanji’s smart. He doesn’t _wanna_ be found! He won’t have told Franky where he’s going.”

Ace goes to scrub his hands in the sink nearby, then sighs heavily. “God this is all so fucked… I hope he’s okay.”

“I hate to say it,” Zoro says, “but we need to find him. He’s the only lead we’ve got right now, if these guys find him first…”

Ace turns to him with a wounded expression. “We’ll just… deal with that as it comes. You guys are three kinds of messed up and I don’t know how safe I feel here. I’m taking you back to my place.”

“Ace you don’t need to-” Luffy starts.

“Yes I do. Shut up and get in the truck."  
They pile into ‘Petunia’, as Ace calls it, decorated lovingly with peeling vinyl stickers designed to look like flames. The comforting scents of old leather and engine grease waft up from the seat as Luffy climbs onto the passenger side seat. Zoro squashes in next to him, he’s still trembling slightly and looks like he needs a hug. When Luffy reaches out to touch his arm, Zoro curls away from him towards the window. Luffy slumps a little in his seat and pulls his straw hat down over his eyes.

_I’m sorry._

 

* * *

 

Ace’s apartment is small but cozy in its own way. There’s a faint smell of rats or some other pet rodents as they walk in and an oddly assorted collection of string lights and furniture that looks like he hauled it off the street.  Zoro thinks it resembles a kind of overgrown kid’s treehouse, but he’s mostly glad to be warm and behind a locked door again. Ace turns to him as he lets them in. "You like it? I think I paid a dollar-forty for my entire suite."

Zoro hums approvingly as he looks around. Photos of Ace and Luffy cover the walls, along with a blonde man with a scar over one side of his face. Zoro points to him, “Who’s this, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

“That’s Sabo, he’s our other brother.” Ace says proudly, “Luffy didn’t tell you about him?”  
“Nope,” he says with a glare in Luffy’s direction, “there are a lot of things he hasn’t told me.”

Luffy starts guiltily as he kicks off his shoes.

“He lives uptown now, but you’d love him! He’s-”

Luffy clears his throat and gives his brother a firm look.

“Oh, right. I shouldn’t blather on when you’re exhausted. You can take my bed, I’ll be on the couch.”

Zoro glances at Luffy, spending a night next to someone you’re mad at is rarely a good idea. Though half of him is downright gleeful for Ace calling him Luffy’s boyfriend, the other half of him is burning with resentment that he kept such a huge piece of information from him for almost two goddamn weeks.

Now doesn’t feel like the right time to have a serious conversation about what their relationship is, so he shrugs in acquiescence. “Okay.”

Ace’s room is strangely tidy compared to his office or the rest of his house. Zoro immediately slumps between the clean sheets, ready to collapse in exhaustion, but Luffy’s weight on the other side prevents him from closing his eye. He can feel his leg bouncing up and down through the bed, then the mattress shifting as he turns around.

“Zoro I- I’m sorry I freaked out on you. I thought I was doing the best thing to keep Sanji safe, you know?”

Zoro sighs and curls further into the blankets. “Whatever, just forget it.” he snaps tiredly.

He feels the bed quivering underneath him and thinks it’s just Luffy shaking his leg again, when he hears a kind of wet cough and a sob. 

“I’m sorry, Zoro. I never wanted to lie to you....

“First Sanji’s calling me, telling me I might never see him again, and then a day later I get a call ‘bout you in hospital.

“I couldn’t believe him, cause I’d only just… Usopp lies about everything but… he was in his car and cryin’ and I knew he wasn’t making it up.” Luffy’s voice is thick with tears now.

“I dunno if they even were gonna let me see you, I just stopped what I was doing and ran…"

Zoro frowns at the bed sheets, he’s starting to feel selfish, spending the past few weeks leaning on Luffy for support and not sparing a moment to ask how he was holding up. When Zoro sits up to look at him, he’s never looked more vulnerable, sat hunched over the bed with bandages around his shoulder and blood on his knuckles. 

"I hate seeing you like this. God.... I’m gonna kill them! Mihawk, that hook guy… I’ll kill them…”

Luffy trembles with anger, but another hitching sob comes out of him.

When Zoro reaches out to touch him, all the breath is knocked out of him as Luffy turns and clings to him. He squeezes him so tight Zoro can’t help but let out a pained whine, the wounds already agitated in the fight begging for a break.

“Luffy, you’re hurting me.”

“I’ll _kill_ them…” he repeats, but every time he says it, it becomes more choked with tears until his chest is hitching with fitful sobs. " _I'll kill them…!"_

Luffy’s fingers curl around his upper arm, while his other hand balls into a fist and tightly grabs the back of Zoro’s shirt. He presses his forehead against his shoulder, muttering ‘Sorry, I’m sorry!’ the whole time.

"Hey… it's okay. I’m sorry too." Zoro says, rubbing small circles around his lower back until he starts to relax. Eventually he can breathe again, as Luffy slumps bonelessly against his chest. It’s a relief too, his nails were digging so deep they left behind little red crescent shapes in Zoro’s skin. 

He suppresses a grimace as Luffy wipes his tear-streaked face using the front of Zoro’s shirt.

“I shouldn’t have tried to accuse you like that. I’m not angry with you anymore, just… No more secrets, okay?”

Luffy sniffs and wipes his snotty nose on his sleeve. “Okay. I promise.” 

His lips are still wet with tears, but the kiss Luffy gives him is soft and sweet Zoro doesn’t even care. Luffy is heavy in his lap and alternating between nibbling his lower lip and pressing their lips together so hard he feels like they’ll bruise. After a while, Luffy lets out an ungraceful snort and pulls back with a gasp. 

“Did you forget to breathe? Idiot.”

“Shut up!” Luffy says, his face growing red. Zoro smiles at him and swipes a stray tear off his face. As much as he’d love to stay like this, Luffy’s weight is murdering his sore hip. He stifles a small hiss of pain and shoves Luffy off his lap, settling for wrapping an arm around his shoulders and letting him lean his head against his chest. “I want to know everything about you.” Zoro mumbles as he strokes his hand over Luffy’s bare arm.

“Everything?” Luffy presses a few wet kisses down his cheek. “Like… stuff in the past? Why does it matter?”

“Because I want to know _you_ , I didn’t even know you had a brother until he called me on the phone.”

“Oh… oops.”

Zoro sighs and looks at him wearily, but there’s no possible way he can stay mad at the man right now. He strokes up Luffy’s chest and touches the rough edges of his scar. “Like this, for example.”

“Yeah uh, about that...”

Luffy holds his hand in place and squeezes it slightly.

“Me, Ace and Sabo we… used to get into trouble a lot. Bad trouble. We were sort of a gang together. My dad’s been in prison almost my whole life, dunno who my mom is, so my grandpa adopted me. He was always busy with work though, so he pawned me off on his friend Dadan. That’s how I met them.”

Zoro frowns, slightly confused. “Dadan was your foster parent?”

“Not really, she just watched out for us sometimes. She would cook us dinner and give us a place to sleep, she took in Sanji when he ran away from home too.

“We stole from this one guy… I think he was from Kaido’s gang. They started chasing us down.”

“Kaido?! Fucking _hell_ Luffy.”

“I know… but we didn’t know who they were at the time. Their guys started chasing us and we thought we’d gotten away. But then this car just came screaming down the street and… I don’t remember a lot after that. broke my leg. Ace says I nearly died. Them and Sanji didn’t leave my hospital room for weeks.”

Zoro hugs him a little tighter and presses his lips to his hair. 

“Hey, it’s not all bad! I joined a bunch of fighting classes to build my strength up after the cast came off... and also cause Ace said I needed to stop getting beaten up so much. And look at this!”

He sticks his leg up straight to show a slight bend in the bone below the knee.

“It didn’t heal properly, isn’t that cool?!”

Zoro chuckles slightly and closes his eye. Luffy presses his lips down his cheek, and the words he mumbles into his ear send a thrum of pleasure through his body, "Hey, Zoro. You're mine, right?" Luffy wraps his body around him and squeezes again, bordering on the painful but not in a way he minds. “I don’t want anyone else touching you, and I wanna be your boyfriend.”

“Yeah.” Zoro says with a smile, “I’m yours.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


"You guys sleep okay?" Ace says, as he slides a stack of pancakes over the kitchen table.

Zoro grunts something that isn't a yes or a no. He still feels tired as the night before, and he can tell he’s not alone. Luffy’s eyes are puffy from crying and his face is covered in cuts and bruises. It’s kind of jarring, Zoro is so used to seeing him wake up and be alert and ready to face the day as soon as he opens his eyes. He stares into space with hooded eyes, sipping tea from a mug. 

Zoro stares at the black lettering on the mug and squints at it. “Am I that sleep-deprived, or does that mug say ‘Number one booty-eating champ’ on it?”  
Luffy pulls the mug away from his lips to look at it. “It’s Ace’s… I’d rather not ask about it.” he mutters.

Zoro sighs wistfully. “Was kinda hoping it was yours.”

Luffy elbows him with a smirk. “We can try it later, Zoro.”

Ace sprays Luffy with the bottle of soap mix he was using to wipe the counter. “If you’re going to be horny, fuckin’ do it outside!”

Luffy whines as he shakes soap suds out of his hair, splattering Zoro in the process. Zoro snickers at him and gives his thigh a squeeze under the table.

Ace goes back over to the kitchen counter and scrubs it furiously. “Still not used to my baby brother actually being in a relationship, even without you talking about _that_ kind of stuff!”

“It’s _your_ mug you stupid asshole!” Luffy yells back. “And you can fucking talk, I already know _way_ too much about your sex life…”

Ace chooses to ignore that. “Hey Luffy, maybe you should call in sick and rest here a while.” Ace says. “And also go to a hospital.”

“Hospital might not be the best idea right now. No hospital, no police.” Zoro mutters.

“What are you saying? You _are_ police.”

“One of the people who shot me is still working there, it’s not safe.”

Luffy scratches at a patch of dried blood by his ear. “We should go see Franky.” he says. “Can you drive us?”  
Ace purses his lips, in such a mother-hen way that Zoro nearly smiles. 

“You two look completely wiped out, can’t you at least rest here for a day?”

"No, ‘cause none of us are going to be safe until Zoro can catch Mihawk.”

An absurdly strong wave of affection hits Zoro for Luffy and he can’t help but brush a lock of his hair aside to kiss him. He grimaces at the sensation of dried blood against his lips, absentmindedly licking his thumb and rubbing at it until it comes off in dark red flakes.

"You are absolutely going to be the death of me, you know that?" Ace says, he shoves a cup of coffee towards Zoro and he reaches for it as if his life depends on it.

While he drinks, Luffy returns the favour, swiping at a spot of dried blood across his collarbone.

“Well, if you’re going to find Sanji, I’m coming with you. I need to know he’s safe. And _if_ he's safe, I'm going to beat the shit out of him."

"You two really _are_ brothers, huh?" Zoro says, smiling over his cup.

“Ace used to date Sanji, but they broke up.” Luffy says, Zoro picked the wrong moment to take a slurp of coffee and it immediately comes out his nose. He coughs and splutters so badly Luffy has to thump his back.

“Oh, should I not have said that?”

“Luffy…” Ace says, the bridge of his freckled nose turning pink.

“What, was it supposed to be a secret or something?”

“Just eat your damn pancakes. Then we’ll go save my _ex-_ boyfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *thinks about how much gay cowboy energy Ace constantly channels*  
> “haha nice”  
> *gives him a shotgun*  
> “Haha NICE!”
> 
> Shoulda called this chapter ‘problem child’ for all the shit it put me through. Only a deleted scene and a last minute reshuffle saved me from going totally insane, and ALSO possessive, insanely protective Luffy gawd blets. CAN I GET A YEEHAW IN HERE???  
> (No Ace isn’t going to die in this fic, what kind of monster would do that?).  
> (Oda. Oda would.)  
> Dumb cowboy howling aside, if you've stuck with me this far thank you so much for reading, seriously. The fact that people are actually excited for these to come out means so much to me. Writing is a pretty lonely process most of the time and knowing it meant something to someone is just... an incredible feeling. If you could say hi in the comments or at my tumblr cowboyzoro and tell me what you like about the story, I would appreciate it.


	5. Black

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji is still missing, so Zoro, Ace and Luffy hire the help of a private investigator to help find him. But it’s a question of whether they’ll find him, or someone else will first...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *to the tune of Carmen Sandiago*
> 
> Where in the world is- kUROASHI SANJI?? Well, I’ve been sitting on the answer for a long, long time. Since I started writing chapter 4 actually. And now…. Oh boy…. Y’all are really not going to like the answer. It occurs to me that I should’ve tagged this fic for minor character death a LONG time ago, and canon character death but WHATEVER… No one cares about you Vergo. Warnings for graphic violence as usual.
> 
> To think this fic started out with ramen and dancing huh? We’ve come a long way, and there’s no going back.
> 
> Enjoy!!!

Frost glitters on the ground of the repair shop, the low-hanging sun making everything twice as bright as the three men pile into a flame-red truck. Ace heaves a duffel bag onto the back, from inside Zoro can hear the weighty clack of his shotgun and the rattle of the box of extra rounds. They stopped back here at Zoro’s insistence, and he has to admit he feels safer with Ace’s tall, solid presence, and a really big gun.

Ace closes the flap of the truck, then briskly rubs his freckled hands. Zoro reaches into his pocket for a glove, he's only wearing one on account of his other hand still being encased in a cast. “Here.”

“Oh, thanks. Now I’m only half freezing I guess. I dunno how he does it.”

Ace nods over at Luffy. While Zoro is wrapped in two sweaters under a green cargo jacket, and Ace put on an orange parka over a hoodie, Luffy is still wearing shorts, a black tank and sandals, even though it’s so cold their breath puffs in the air.

“What?” Luffy says, he quirks a dark brow at their staring, his feet up on the dashboard of the passenger seat and arms folded lazily behind his head. He at least put on a coat, a red one with a fluffy white collar… even if he hasn’t bothered to zip it up.

“Nothing, mutant.” Ace calls over, before turning back to Zoro. “Are you sure about this? I’ve only ever shot at someone to protect my shop. I’ve never actually y'know…”

“I hope you don’t have to, but I’ve got a massive blindspot... If everything goes to shit, I’m gonna need your help.”

“Right,” Ace nods and moves a little heavily over to the driver’s seat. “Right…”

Zoro steps up into the truck, prodding Luffy in the ribs. “Budge up.”

Luffy takes his feet off the dashboard to offer a hand to help him into his seat. “You still cold, Zoro?”

“Yeah…”

“Here!”

Luffy grabs a scarf printed with bright green Christmas trees and wraps it around his neck.  

“God… it is  _way_ too early to be thinking about Christmas…” Zoro mutters.  
“Don’t be grumpy!” Luffy ties a knot and gives him a sloppy kiss on the lips. “Heh, when it’s Christmas we could decorate you instead of a tree.”

“Shut up.”

He ruffles Zoro’s hair and runs a finger through his earrings. “Oh look, you already made a start!”  
Zoro tackles Luffy against the seat and grins at the silly guffaws he makes, as he tries to kiss his neck and nip at his earlobes. Luffy pushes him off when Ace climbs into the driver’s seat and lifts a tired eyebrow at them. 

Zoro clears his throat and sits back up, then looks nonchalantly out the window.

_Behave yourself man._

He’s already not made a great first impression on Ace by showing up to his workplace covered in blood. 

“Are you guys sure about this?” Luffy says, as Ace starts the engine, “I mean if it turns out Sanji’s safe, there’s a chance we could lead some bad guys right to him.” 

“That’s… a really good point.” Zoro mutters.

“Well, if we’re all being hunted, isn’t it better off that we’re all together?” Ace says, “Sanji’s tough, but he’s- he's a _chef_ for god's sake! What is he going to do if-” 

Ace grips the steering wheel hard and squeezes his eyes shut. “Let’s just… see Franky and go from there.”

Luffy stares at his brother for a few moments before turning and leaning his head on Zoro’s shoulder. As Ace rolls the car out of the garage, Luffy’s hand reaches across his lap to squeeze his hand. Zoro thinks back to the last time he saw Sanji, the salty, snarling barman and wonders what Ace and Luffy see in him.

_None of this would’ve happened if he’d just told me the truth in the first place, the bastard._

 

* * *

 

 

Franky House is two parts scrapheap, one part nightclub and another some kind of circus. Luffy smirks at the bemused look on Zoro’s face as they drive past the high metal gates and into the scrapyard.

“What does Franky... _do_ again?” Zoro says slowly.

“He’s a carpenter mostly, but he also buys and sells scrap.” Ace says. “Amongst other ‘business ventures’” 

As soon as Zoro steps out of the car, Luffy remembers that he probably should’ve warned him about Franky’s dog.

The huge creature pounds over the frozen dirt towards them, snarling and barking furiously from under her mane of reddish-gold fur. Her black gums flap and her long fangs glint as she heads straight for the terrified Zoro.

“Hey Sunny, it’s us!” Luffy calls. The lion-like dog skids to a halt and her mouth seems to curve in a smile. Zoro grunts as she stands up on her hind legs and puts her huge bear-paws on his shoulders.

“Heh, she likes you.” Ace says, as the dog lathers his face with wet kisses.

“Oh, good…”

It takes the two brothers put together to pull the massive dog off him, saving his face from being completely covered in slobber. 

“Is it legal to have a dog like this in the city?” Zoro says quietly, wiping his face on his coat sleeve.

“You better stop questioning the legality of anything that goes on at Franky House, buddy.” Ace says with a smirk.

 

The warehouse is full of music and laughter, odd decorations, carved wooden fixtures and lots of string lights. A bar is set against one wall, with shelves upon shelves of booze bottles lining it. Luffy catches Zoro giving the bar a pitifully longing look while licking his lips.

“A little early for that, Zoro.” Luffy says, nudging him and smiling. He only gets a harrumph and a small pout in response.

Robin spots them and hurries over, frowning and gathering Luffy’s face into her hands. She tilts his chin up to look at his hairline and the line of stitches Ace gave him the night before.

“Luffy! What on earth happened?"

"Some hook-hand dickhead attacked us!” Luffy says.

"Crocodile…?"

"No, not a crocodile, he was this HUGE guy with uh-"

She puts a hand over his mouth.

"No, I mean his name is Crocodile, I used to work for him. Why on earth would he come after you?!”

Luffy fills her in on the night before, how the men had known to follow him even in the dark and nearly cut him open trying to get Sanji’s location out of him. Robin is quiet for a few long moments, her expression dark.

She takes them past the bar, into a smaller side room where Franky is laughing with Zambai and the other members of the family. An angular modern fireplace hangs down from the ceiling and fills the room with its warmth. 

"Hey kids!" Luffy rolls his eyes slightly, everyone under 30 is 'kid' to Franky. "Oh jeez, you guys look like crap."

"We know." Zoro mutters.

"Is that a shotgun?"

Ace carefully puts his duffel bag down. “I wish it wasn’t.”

"What's up?"

“We’re uh, looking for Sanji.” Luffy says.

“ _Crocodile_ came after them.” Robin says with her arms folded. Franky tosses his shades aside, stands up and looks at his wife with wide icy-blue eyes.

“That slimy rat-turd, where is he?! He’s not getting away with this-”  
“Honey…” Robin says gently. 

“Man, I haven’t even met this guy and I know he has the kind of face you wanna hit!" Franky says, smacking a fist into his palm.

"How do you know Crocodile?" Zoro asks Robin.  
She sits in one of the plush armchairs by the fire and frowns at the floor, “It was ten years ago, give or take, when he attempted to murder me and have my body thrown in the river, after I expressed my desire to leave his employment."

Zoro's mouth drops open. 

“I would have died, had a certain teenager not jumped in after me…” Robin continues, shooting Luffy a shrewd glance.

“Who can’t fuckin’ swim.” Ace grumps, with his arms folded over his chest.

"What else was I supposed to do, let her drown?!" Luffy cries.

"You could've drowned too you moron!”

Zoro glances over from where he’s warming himself over the fire and curves an eyebrow.

"Well _anyway_... You said you’re looking for Sanji?” Franky says, sitting back down and putting an arm around Robin. 

“Yeah! When you last saw him did he tell you anything? About where he was going or...?" Luffy says, hopeful.

“I’m sorry kids, if I could help you I would - honestly - but he didn’t tell us a thing before he bounced. He made it pretty clear he didn’t want anyone worrying after ‘im.”

Luffy frowns and stares at the floor, it was about the answer he expected and yet he still feels let down. The worry in Ace’s expression is almost palpable and Luffy reaches up to squeeze his shoulder.

“I tell you, that kid…” Franky continues. “I don’t wanna worry you, but he was limping real bad and about to fuckin’ collapse. He stayed here for a night and then left without a trace. Didn’t even say goodbye.” Franky snaps his thick fingers and frowns. “He might’ve seen that guy, what’s his name? Traffy… Traffic… cone? Something weird like that. That guy who looks like he steals people’s organs.”

"Trafalgar Law?” Zoro says, “I think I’ve seen him before.”

“Yeah that sounds about right. He moonlights at a free clinic, sometimes he offers to treat people for free, if he’s feeling charitable.”

Luffy taps his foot, eager to get going before Franky stops him again. 

"If you're gonna go lookin’ for him, you should take Sunny with you. She won't be any use for tracking, but she'll make anyone think twice about hurting you again."

Zoro looks nervous and makes a hesitant start at a sentence, but Luffy interrupts him with a grin and "Cool! Thanks Franky!"

Zoro turns away from the fire and looks at Robin. “Luffy said something about you making him a fake ID. Do you have any copies of it left?”

Robin waves him over to a table in the corner pulls out a sheet of photo prints. The man in the pictures wears a grim expression and his face is covered in scrapes and bruises. If Luffy had walked past him on the street, he’s not sure if he would even recognize him. He had his long blonde hair cut short and dyed it black, and acquired some dark colour contacts. His neat goatee is about the only thing he kept. 

“Wait, _that’s_ Sanji?!” Luffy says, grabbing the pictures and staring at them.

"Yes, I gave him a haircut myself." Robin says, with a wry smile she adds, “To match his new name, Mr Black.”

“When he said he was gonna disappear, he sure meant it.” Ace mutters. 

“If you want to find him sooner rather than later, you might have to hire a private investigator.” Franky calls over as they start heading back outside again.

Zoro groans. “Like who?”

 

* * *

 

 

“ _Yohohoho_ _!_ How very nice to meet you!”

Zoro stares up at the man as he shakes his hand, who is so tall his head almost brushes the ceiling of the tiny office. If Zoro wanted someone to be tailed in secret, his last choice would be a giant with a laugh so loud it hurts his ears.

"You… have a private investigation license?" Zoro says doubtfully. There’s a long beige trench coat hung on a stand in the corner and an old-fashioned fedora, like someone playing a detective in an old film noir.

"Yes indeed!" The PI's voluminous head of black curls bounces as he nods, "Please call me Brook. I know, everyone has their doubts when they walk in, but I could track down even a ghost!"

 

“WOAH, COOL!” Luffy runs to the stand and immediately puts the hat on. He grabs the trench coat and throws it on, but he looks like a five year old. The sleeves hang off him and it's so long that it trails on the floor. "I’m a hard-boiled cop, who doesn’t play by the rules!” he growls and tips down the hat over his eyes dramatically.

Zoro glances towards Brook with worry, but he doesn't seem to be offended. He sits at the desk and busies himself pouring tea into four cups, then gives Zoro a friendly grin as he offers him one, "How may I help you today?"

“We’re looking for this man.”

Zoro slides Sanji's photo towards him and Brook grumbles thoughtfully. "This man is on the missing person's register, no? I believe I've seen him before. Though I thought he was blonde."

"He was." Zoro says.

Brook moves to a cork board hanging on the wall and scans a collection of missing persons flyers, he pulls down one that belongs to Sanji and compares the two on his desk. The image of him grinning next to his stepfather and the grim fake ID picture are like night and day.

"Yes, he’s the son of the Zeff the Chef, correct? I’m a big fan of his show!”

Brook lets out another strange ‘yohohoho!’ chuckle and tilts his head at Zoro, looking in particular at the gun holster at his hip. "You're a police officer, yes? Why do you require my help?"

"I don't want to let anyone at the station know what I’m doing, it could put this guy in more danger. Can you keep this a secret?"

"Of course! I operate in strict confidence. My first question is… how did this gentleman become missing, do you know?"

"Luffy was one of the people who saw him last.”

Zoro sips his tea as Luffy launches into his story. To his credit, the goofy giant listens to Luffy with quiet focus, his long fingers laced together and his eyes focused on him from behind his little round glasses.

“My, he sounds like quite the reckless one.” 

“Yeah… I wish when I saw him last that we had stuck together.” Luffy says, “He always thinks he has to handle stuff alone, even when I keep telling him over and over that we’ll help him!”

“And would you say he’s rather good at disappearing?”

“I guess. When we first found him, he had been hiding from his birth family for some time. They kept trying to find him and take him home, so he moved around a lot.”

“Well no matter how good he thinks he is, he’s bound to have made mistakes. If he has a good relationship with Mr Zeff - and I assume he does - he likely contacted him before he went into hiding.”

“Could you get a hold of Zeff somehow?” Zoro says, “He probably wouldn’t want to talk to me, and we need to go see that doctor.”

“Leave it to me! I shall not let you down!” Brook says emphatically. 

They start to leave, before Zoro realises Luffy is still wearing the long coat and hat, he shoves him back into the office and makes him put them back on the stand with a hurried apology.

 

* * *

 

 

At the free clinic, Zoro quickly remembers how sick he is of hospitals, medical smells and coughing people immediately make his anxiety spike. Ace seems to share his feelings as they stride down the hallways looking for Dr Law.

They find him giving a shot to a coughing patient. His eyes are surrounded by dark shadows and his black hair rumpled like he just rolled out of bed.

 _Victor Frankenstein._ Zoro thinks idly. 

“Uh, hello... Dr Law?” he says.  
Law blinks at him like an owl disturbed from sleep in the middle of the day, then turns to a young nurse. “Tony! Clean up in here while I find out what these people want.”

He points the nurse to the patient, who has blood running down their arm after the shot, and doesn’t wait for a response before he walks out of the room.

“What do you want?” Law says, pulling off his gloves and shoving them into a bin before he walks off. They practically have to chase him down as he hurries back to a small, dark office.

"Did you treat this guy a few weeks ago?" Zoro almost has to jog to keep up with him as he shows him Sanji’s picture.

"Why do you want to know?"

"He's our friend, we're looking for him.” Ace says.

“Well, I can’t tell you. Patient-doctor confidentiality. I’m very busy so...”

Law tries to shut the office door on them, but Ace blocks it open with his shoulder. He’s the only one tall enough to look him in the eye. “Look I’m sorry to bother you but… we’re _worried_ about him, he could be in danger!” Zoro notices the southern twang in his accent getting more pronounced when he raises his voice.

“Whatever shit he’s gotten himself into isn’t my problem.” Law snaps. “You people need to _leave.”_

“We’re not going anywhere!” Ace manages to barge past Law and get into his office. “Can you just tell us if he came here or not?”

“Fine, yes he came here. And I told him to be prepared to run for the rest of his life. If he was dumb enough to mess with Mihawk, he’s probably dead already.”

Luffy steps forward angrily, but Ace gets there first and grabs him by the front of his lab coat. Law instantly retaliates by pulling a scalpel out and pressing it under Ace’s chin.

“You guys don’t know what you’re getting into, do you?” Law says with a pitying look. “Vergo was in the police force for _fifteen years_ ! He was too good to ever be caught, how do you think they’ll react to him getting killed by a fucking _chef_?”

Ace slowly loosens his grip on Law’s coat and steps back.

“Do you get it?” Law continues, “They’ve probably caught him already, they won’t have let him leave the city.”

“You don’t know that!” Ace growls.

Law lets out a bitter chuckle. “You think so? Although… I am grateful to him for getting rid of that prick. If he hasn't shuffled off this mortal coil, maybe you could thank him for me.” Law shoves Ace away and wipes the scalpel off on the front of his scrubs. “Now _get out_.”

 

“I can’t fuckin’ _believe_ that guy!” Ace snarls as they head back to the truck. He grimaces as he swipes at the cut on his chin and smears blood along his jawline.

Zoro can. He wonders if Ace even realises how intimidating he can be, especially when he has a shotgun in his hands.

Luffy fusses over his brother back in the truck and digs out the box of animal-printed band-aids to press over the cut on his chin. Then Zoro’s phone buzzes.

“Mr Zoro!” Brook says, Zoro has to hold the phone away from his ear to combat the volume of his voice, “Sorry if this is a bad time, but I contacted Mr Zeff and he was willing to talk to me a little!”

“Oh? Go ahead.”

“He says he was contacted briefly by an unknown number a few weeks ago. I assume by Mr Sanji, all he said was…” Brook clears his voice before carefully reciting “‘Je pars de là, vieux pet, tu ne pourrais jamais me revoir, j’en suis désolé. Au revoir.’

Zoro quirks an eyebrow, he understood ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘goodbye’ well enough. When Zoro relays the message to the others, Luffy tilts his head like a dog, but Ace goes pale.

“I’m sorry...” Brook continues, “That probably isn’t what you wanted to hear, is it? But I shall keep trying!”

“Yeah, thank you Brook.”

“What does that mean?” Luffy says. “Ace, you understand French right?”

“I understand enough.” Ace swallows and clenches his shaking hands. “It means he’s in big trouble.”

 

* * *

 

 

The sun is setting by the time they get back to Franky House, and the winter evening quickly closes in, bringing a light fall of snow with it that promises to stay. Zoro is mooching in front of the fire when he hears shotgun blasts outside.

It’s just Ace setting up cans and bottles to shoot for target practice, but Zoro has to take a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

Ace turns with a flick of his ponytail at his approach, disturbing a few snowflakes in his hair. “Hey. Franky gave me a few extra boxes of rounds, thought I’d get some practice, in case…”

He lowers his head back over the gun and ejects a couple of cartridges before busying himself reloading. 

“Don’t let what Traffy said get to you.” Zoro says. “If you let your preconceptions get in the way, it could slow your reaction time, it could even get you hurt.”

Zoro sits himself down on an old truck tire and sighs. “Sorry if that sounded cold, I’m not very good with… feelings and stuff.”

“It’s alright. I get it.”

Ace finishes reloading and quickly blasts three cans off the wall one after the other, missing the last one by a hair. Zoro makes an impressed hum, but Ace only marches over angrily to set more targets up. 

Zoro hears the back door thud open and closed and footsteps approaching, he doesn’t need to turn around to know it’s Luffy on account of the slap of his sandals. He has two steaming mugs in his hands.

“E aí? Robin made hot chocolate, here you go Ace. Oh! You don’t like chocolate, do you, Zoro…? You can uh, hold the mug?”

“Thanks.”

He gives Luffy a smile, at least appreciating the warmth of the mug in his cold hand. He also appreciates the hand sneaking under his scarf when Luffy kisses him, his hand is warm as he strokes a thumb over Zoro’s collarbone. He clears his throat and pushes him away when he notices Ace looking at them, kissing Luffy in front of his brother still feels weird. He can’t help but notice the deep sadness in Ace’s eyes when he puts his mug down and picks up his gun again.

“Something’s bothering you, what is it?” Zoro asks. Ace blasts an old wine bottle into pieces and slumps his shoulders.

“It’s… what Sanji said, he was tellin’ Zeff he might be disappearing for good, like he would never see him again.”

Luffy slumps down on the tyre next to Zoro and tilts his eyebrows up at Ace, he grabs Zoro’s hand to take a slurp out of the mug he’s holding.

“That’s why you got so upset?” Luffy says.

“Sanji… he- No matter how much I tried to convince him he has people who love and care about him… he never believed it. And it got so _exhausting_ being with someone who kept pushing me away.”

Zoro feels a guilty little pang at how he tried to do the same with Luffy, and now he doesn’t know where he would be without the beautiful little dork.

“It kinda started with Gin.” Ace continues.  
“Oh, I meant to ask you about him.” Zoro says.

“Yeah… this guy just came charging into Shakky’s one day, shoved a _gun_ in Sanji’s face and told him to empty the register. All Sanji said - cool as anything- was, ‘Hey, you look hungry, why don’t you sit down?’”.

Luffy chuckles, but Ace doesn’t look so amused. “It scared the _shit_ out of me! Gin ended up coming back and apologising but… what if he hadn’t been hungry, and he was just a complete lunatic, and he really was going to shoot him? I told him he should've been more careful, called the police or something, but he wouldn't hear it. He kept saying ‘it’s over now!’ like that made it all better.”

“You still have feelings for him.” Luffy blurts out suddenly. 

“Luffy…” Zoro warns.

“You’re right, I do.” Ace admits, “Even though it was a few years ago now, I can’t help but think... if I’d apologized - if _either_ of us had apologized - maybe we’d still be friends at least. But… I lost my temper, and I think… I think I broke his heart.”

"What do you mean?" Zoro says.

"I… told him to cut off contact with Gin. I didn’t like him and I didn’t trust him. I told him it was that or I was gonna walk, and he got really _scared_. He begged me to stay, but I was too frustrated, I couldn’t think straight. He always told me I was the best thing that ever happened to him... and I abandoned him.”

Ace turns around.

“You get what I’m saying? He absolutely hates himself, and he does shit like this because he wants to die!”

“But… I mean the guy’s loaded,” Zoro says, “he seems to have plenty of friends and a good job, why-”

“It’s not that simple. He always used to talk about how worthless his family made him feel, how they used to beat him up and they made roughing it on the street seem like a better option than staying at home. I guess after we broke up he _really_ went off the rails…”

“Don’t blame yourself for his mental baggage Ace. You shouldn’t feel responsible for him being fucked up.”Zoro says, “It’s not on you that he ran off and decided to do something idiotic either.”

" _Zoro!”_ Luffy cries. “Maybe you don't get along with him, but us and Sanji have been through a lot; he's just as important to me as you are, so don’t shit-talk him!”

"I… I'm sorry, I mean- I wouldn't want anything _bad_ to happen to the guy."

He rubs an absent thumb over the mostly-healed wound in his shoulder, the one he took protecting Sanji. He doesn’t think to mention it, he was only doing his job.

"It’s hard, I mean I didn’t get along with the guy when I met him the first time. Or the second time… or the third... I guess I’ve just been looking at him as another piece of the case.”

“Well, when we find him, you _have_ to get along with him!”

“I’m sure that’ll go well...”

The ‘when’ part feels much more like an ‘if’ at this point. 

 

Zoro stands up and slips his gun from its holster. “Luffy, you ever fired a gun before?”

“Wha…?”

“You got yourself hurt last night, and I don’t want that happening again.”

“Oh, I mean…”

“If we’re going to find Sanji, we can’t rely on the police to help. We’re gonna be on our own for this one.” 

He makes sure the safety is on before handing his gun to him, Luffy looks upset as he tests the weight of it in his hands. Ace puts his gun down and steps over. “I'm his brother, I should teach him to shoot it at least."

Ace puts his hands over Luffy's ears as he shoots at the targets. He hits his mark pretty damn well, or at least better than Zoro with his one eye and one hand. 

"Not bad, but keep both your eyes open, and don't chew on your lip.” Zoro says. “You could end up putting your teeth through it with the knock back." 

"I'm nervous, I can't help it."

 

When Zoro’s phone buzzes, he rushes to answer it so fast he spills the rest of Luffy’s hot chocolate over his lap.

“Ah, is that Mr Zoro?”  
“Brook! What’s up, have you found something?”

“Ah, well… I did some digging and there was something strange going on over the police scanner.”

“You have a police scanner…? Never mind, what was it?”

“A young lady who works at a motel on the outskirts of town called in to say she saw Mr Sanji, or Mr Black as he checked in as.”

“What, really?! That’s great but…”

Ace and Luffy’s heads turn to him hopefully, at the same time his heart starts to sink.  
“She called the police…”

“Yes, but the strange thing is, the officer who went over said it was a false alarm and nothing more came of it.”  
His heart sinks further, as he has a sneaking suspicion what happened.

“Do you have this motel’s address?”

 

* * *

 

 

They set off with the enormous dog riding on the back, her mouth flapping in the breeze and tongue streaming out behind her like a pink flag.

The cheap, tropical themed motel looks all the sadder in the cold. The limp palm trees that never fully grew and plastic patio furniture have a thin layer of white covering them. A bored janitor is pulling leaves out of a dirty green swimming pool, getting ready to cover it up for the winter.

Brook is already there waiting for them, wearing his long coat. He tips his hat at them as they head for the reception, a small boxy room tacked onto the main building.

The receptionist looks mildly terrified, and Zoro thinks they must be an odd combination of people. Brook has to lean down slightly in order to not whack his head on the door frame as they enter. “Hello young lady!” he says with a grin. “I understand you had a disturbance of some kind a night or two ago?”

“...Last room on the right, you’ll... know it when you see it.” she says.

 

The cheap wooden door is splintered and the lock is hanging off its hinges.

Zoro pushes the door open and it's like a scene from a horror movie. Droplets of blood scatter the pea-soup coloured wallpaper and the tiny bathroom is coated in blood too, the shower curtain is ripped off its cheap plastic fastenings and the mirror is smashed into shards. Zoro catches the light reflect off something hidden down the side of the sink. A particularly large piece of mirror, sharp and wickedly curved like a claw. Zoro wraps his hand in a layer of toilet paper before he kneels down to pick it up. The shard has a lot of blood down one edge.

"I don't think these villains would resort to using this if they came specifically to abduct Mr Sanji?" Brook says from over his shoulder.

“Yeah, he fought back.”

Back in the main room, Ace is looking under the bed. 

“You find something?” Zoro asks him. Ace looks haunted as he stands back up. In his hand is a gold lighter shaped like a woman, or maybe a mermaid, hugging her knees with a serene look on her face. The engraved lines in the metal are crusted with blood.

“It’s his.” Ace chokes, Zoro doesn’t bother asking him if he’s sure.

Luffy looks equally alarmed at the object. “Ace, it’s gonna be okay… At least we know he was definitely here, right?”

“That idiot… he’s dead, isn’t he?”

“We don’t know that yet, we might still have time.” Zoro says, though as he glances down at the blood stains in the carpet, he can’t help but notice they look an awful lot like the kind that would be made by dragging someone over it. Someone unconscious or...

Zoro leads the way out of the room. He heads straight for the receptionist again.

“When you called the police... what happened, did you see anyone leave that room?”

“I… I saw this huge guy, he might have been dragging something, it was kinda dark. He got into a van and drove off.”

“What kind of van, did it have a logo, or a license plate?” Zoro says hopefully.

“I dunno, I think I saw P-I-C-A, the stonemasons? I thought Pica was an eating disorder…”

Zoro runs outside, using the flashlight on his phone to look for tyre marks. He finds some deep ones that curve out of the parking lot, down the dark coastal road and off towards the cliffs. He shudders as a breeze picks up, one that throws snowflakes into his face and promises a blizzard soon to come.

 

* * *

 

 

Sanji blinks tiredly from underneath a black cloth. If he strains, he can just about make out the orange glow of a hanging bulb through the fabric. His fear became anxiety, then a restless boredom. They clearly want him to sit and squirm for a while. All he can think about is how the chair is numbing his ass and the plastic ties around his wrists are cutting off his circulation. The room is cold, and damp too. He guesses he must be close to the sea, since he can feel it seeping deep into his skin and making it impossible to warm himself, no matter how much he shivers.

His breath puffs out in clouds, reminding him of how fucking badly he could use a cigarette.

 

The door opens with a rusty squeal of hinges, after god knows how many hours he’s waited, and huge boots clomp into the room. He winces as a clumsy hand rips the cloth from his head, and tears a few strands of hair out at the same time. The light in the small room is dull, but it still hurts his eyes as they suddenly contract after hours of being in darkness. The man who attacked him in the motel room stands over him, a hulking brute with a head of ropy lilac hair and shoulders like a linebacker’s. A gash under his cruel eyes is still bleeding from where Sanji tried to slash at them. The brute moves aside to let a tall blonde man in, while a woman with green hair watches him hatefully from the doorway, he recognises her as being one of the cops in the alleyway.

“Well, well. I was expecting something a little more impressive from the guy who killed Vergo.” the blonde says, his eyes are hidden behind a pair of red sunglasses, something about them remind Sanji of the eyes of a spider. Sanji takes a moment to admire his two-piece red suit. It’s designer (maybe Criminal brand… ironically), black dress shirt and red silk tie. Classy, though the colour-coordination is ruined slightly by the bright pink feather pinned to his lapel. Sanji’s lip curls a little in disgust at the clashing.

“So sorry about that, were you close?” Sanji snaps.

The brute raises his fist and swings it down at his face, the heavy cuff makes Sanji swear he saw his mother for a couple of seconds in the white light that explodes across his vision. When it passes, he’s face-down on the floor, coughing and choking through the blood in his nostrils. A scar on his lip split open anew and fills his mouth with iron-tasting slickness.

“Easy Pica.” The blonde says, grabbing the back of his chair and forcing him back upright. “Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? You know why you’re here.”

Sanji tilts his head. “Do I? Maybe a cigarette would jog my memory.”

The woman at his side steps forward angrily, but the man stops her with an upraised hand that glints with gold rings.

To Sanji’s surprise, he pulls out a pack of cigarettes and gives him one. As he flicks open his lighter, Sanji notices that it’s engraved with the initials ‘D.D’.

_Huh, didn’t think that would work._

Sanji takes a long pull and breathes out gratefully, it occurs to him that it might be his last. He watches the trails of smoke rise into the ceiling thoughtfully. Thinking about death should by all rights make him feel something, sad or scared, but it doesn’t make him feel anything.

All he feels is annoyed that they tied his wrists together so he can’t wipe away the tickle from the blood running down his face.

“You seem to hold our friend Gin in high regard, why is that?” D.D says. “Were you banging or something?”

Sanji chokes on a lungful of smoke and the cigarette nearly falls from his lips.

“Hahaha! Not that it’s any of my business. I just want to know where he went. That’s all.”

The blonde circles around and puts his hands either side of the back of his chair. Sanji flinches as a hand curls into his hair and _yanks._

“We paid your friends a little visit, that car mechanic and his brother, we know where they live.”

An icy feeling runs up his spine at that, he almost spits out his cigarette and demands to know what the fuck he’s talking about, but he forces himself to take another pull and stay quiet.

_He’s bluffing, there’s no way he got to Ace and Luffy..._

“If you don’t value your own life, maybe we could have your friends brought here, Ace or Luffy or…  what’s that girl’s name you know, Nami? Cute little farm she has. We know all about you, _Vinsmoke_.”

“Whatever you’re planning on doing to me, just get on with it. I’m not telling you _shit.”_

D.D chuckles low in his throat.

“Patience kid… we’ve got all the time in the world.” he grins slowly. “Why do you think I wore my red suit?”

 

* * *

 

 

“There!” 

Luffy’s cry causes Ace to brake so abruptly the truck skids a few yards on the icy road. Sunny starts to bark in protest as they slow.

“That’s the van right?!”

The van evidently took the turn a little too fast, and some deep tracks lead off the road into a pile of fresh snow. Luffy hops off the back and instantly sinks up to his nuts in a snowdrift in his hurry to yank the double doors open.

“You find anything?” Zoro yells over.

Luffy’s eyes scan the dark interior, but sees nothing but more faint streaks of blood. When he touches one, it’s cold and frosted over. He swallows and turns around to clamber back through the snowdrift and scramble back up the bank.

“There’s nothing in there, keep going.”

He doesn’t tell them about the blood, as it feels like any hope that they’ll find Sanji unharmed is rapidly draining away as it is. Luffy squashes himself back in the seat next to Zoro and balls his fists up on his knees as they continue down the dark road. He stares unblinking at the faded markings slipping under the truck ahead, as he tries to block out the images of Sanji lying injured somewhere.

Zoro’s gun is a hard, unnerving weight in his pocket. Shooting tin cans and bottles off the wall had felt weird enough, how was he supposed to shoot a person?  
 _“Nonlethal take downs.”_ Zoro had explained, all too briefly. “ _Aim for the lower leg or arms, and don’t shoot if you’re not prepared to kill.”_

He hadn’t dared to ask if Zoro had killed anyone before, thinking about it made his stomach hurt. Would he be able to look at Zoro or Ace the same way if they killed someone? Would he be able to look at _himself_ in the mirror if _he_ killed someone?

He glances at Zoro, looking at the scar down his eye and reminding himself of how much these people don’t fuck around. _They hurt him, and now they’re hurting Sanji, and they’re not going to stop until you hurt them back!_

 

Ace stops the truck by an old gravel path, and parks it so they’re hidden by a tangle of dead trees. There’s some kind of abandoned factory or warehouse ahead of them, or it would be abandoned if it weren’t for the dull orange lights he can see coming from inside. The snow swirling around them makes it difficult to see if there’s anyone guarding it.

“That’s got to be where they went.” Ace says. “You better let us take the lead, Zoro.”

"If anyone gets in your way, shoot first - ask questions later.” Zoro mutters, just barely managing to hold onto an excited lion-dog with a hand around her collar.

Luffy nods and clutches the cold metal in his hands, the metal flutters and clicks under his fingers with how much he’s shaking, and he can't seem to stop it. 

_Don't die Sanji._

The words rattle back to him in his memory, the words he’d said while hugging Sanji and smelling his smoky, familiar scent. Was that the last hug he was going to give him?  
“Luffy?” Zoro says.

He quickly swipes a tear from his cheek and clenches his teeth to stop them chattering.

“I’m fine.”

He ignores the sceptical look on Zoro’s face and strides ahead, snow kicks up between his sandals and falls chilling cold into the gaps between his toes.

Sunny gallops ahead and comes upon an enormous man having a smoke. He doesn’t notice them approaching until Sunny lets out a lion-like purr, which turns into a snarl as she charges towards him. To his surprise, the man makes a high-pitched squeal and turns to run inside the building, with Sunny close on his heels. Ace cocks his gun and follows her.

Luffy’s eyes adjust to the darkness inside, just in time to catch the huge man escaping into a stairwell. He doesn’t like how the room ahead of them feels like an arena, old machinery has been pushed aside to make room for piles of plastic-covered bricks that look like brown sugar. Hundreds upon hundreds stacked on top of each other, all labelled with the word ‘SMILE’.

‘What are these?” Luffy says, picking up a bag and sniffing at it.

“Heroin, by the looks of it.” Zoro says, making Luffy quickly drop the bag back onto the pile. Zoro’s eye is wide as he looks around. “What the DEA would give to find this place...”

Sunny barks at them from where she waits by the stairwell, as if urging them to hurry.

 

Luffy charges ahead and leads the way up the stairs, taking them two at a time and not listening when Ace calls his name. He’s too focused on getting to Sanji, so much so that he doesn’t have time to react when a pair of boots come into his line of sight. The person above him slams their boot into his shoulder, causing him to fall down the set of stairs he’d just climbed up. He gasps with pain as he slumps against the wall, whoever it is managed to kick him in the exact spot Crocodile had hurt him in the night before.

The attacker is one of the strangely dressed people Luffy has ever seen. He wears a pair of high heels and shorts and a feathered coat, while a pair of horns protrude from the cap on his head.

“Oh! So sorry!” the person giggles, “did that hurt?”

 

* * *

 

 

“You got anything to tell me, huh?”

D.D flinches slightly as Sanji spits blood into his face, his nerves are jangling from cigarette burns and a little numbed from the endless thud of knuckles. D.D wipes his glasses off with a sleeve and cracks his hand across his mouth once more. Sanji sways a little in his seat as he watches him move over to a huge industrial sink. He turns on both faucets and Sanji shivers. _Guessing there’s no hope of the water being warm at least..._

“...Because you are _really_ not going to enjoy this.”

Sanji lets out a trembling breath and spits the rest of the blood out of his mouth. "Okay… what you’re going to have to do is… Slice chicken breast into paillards, then coat them in flour. Brown them in the pan for a few minutes... then chop onions, bell peppers and mushrooms…”

"What, what did you fucking say?!"

"You told me to talk… I'm talking. You ever had Chicken Marengo? It's delicious… You might want to get a pen and paper-"

D.D grabs him by the back of his suit jacket and drags him over to the sink. Ice cold water closes over Sanji’s head, numbing his skin and making him want to cry out in shock. He gasps as he's pulled back up.

"You still want to be funny? I can do this all night."

Sanji sputters out a mouthful of water. "... Add the onions and peppers to the pan and sauté them, season with salt and pepper-"

D.D holds him under much longer this time, until he can’t hold his breath any longer. Goddamn, he should have given smoking up a long time ago. D.D pulls him up coughing and trying to clear the water from his nose.

“You’re defending a worthless piece of shit like Gin, when he doesn’t give a _fuck_ about you? You think a guy like him cares whether you die or not?”

A vein throbs dangerously in D.D’s his forehead as Sanji chokes out, “Chop mushrooms, and add minced garlic - _fuck!_ ” 

D.D slams his face back into the water, then pulls him up long enough to catch a tiny gulp of air. The breath doesn’t get to his lungs in time, and when he goes down again, everything starts getting a little fuzzy.

_i'm going to die here, maybe i should just give up._

But his body refuses to. As soon as the icy water fills his mouth he thrashes and kicks out, while cold fire rushes into his lungs. Things go from fuzzy to black.

 

Faintly he hears the door bang open and feet stomp in.

He grunts as D.D throws him into the corner in a heap and a kick to his ribs forces him to breathe again. Coughing up the water burns his lungs and leaves him gasping and writhing like a dying fish. He looks up from a puddle of ice water and his own blood to see the brute from before burst in with his shoulders rising and falling.

"What do you want?! I'm a little busy." D.D says.

“Doffy! We might have some tr-” the huge man squeaks.

Sanji interrupts with a torrent of spluttering giggles. “ _Doffy?_ Did he just call you _Doffy?!”_

‘Doffy’ presses his lips into a firm line then snarls at the man. _“What?”_

 _“_ We might have some trouble o-outside, there’s a-”

“I don’t _care!_ Just go deal with it!”

The huge man goes skulking back out of the room and quietly shuts the door again. Then Doffy looms over him. He slowly pulls a handsome flip-knife out of a red-leather sheath, and twirls it in his fingers so it catches the light. His mouth cracks open in a grin. “So you’re a chef, huh?” the next words out of his mouth wipe the smile right off Sanji’s face. “You must take really good care of your hands.”

 

* * *

 

 

“GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY _BROTHER!”_ Ace screams, as he blasts a hole in the wall by the horned man’s head. The horned man looks insulted as he turns around and runs. Sunny starts barking up a storm as she squashes past Luffy and charges up the stairs.

“You okay, Loof?”

“Yeah.” Luffy groans a little as he takes Ace’s hand, letting his brother pull him to his feet. 

“Liar. Come on.”

Zoro follows them uncertainly as they reach the second floor. It’s comprised of criss-crossing metal walkways, with a row of offices on one side and some huge arched windows on the other. 

They follow the sounds of Sunny’s growls. As she barges ahead, she scares a rotund man in a suit so badly he chooses to leap over the railings of the metal walkway instead of facing her teeth.

 _Thank you Franky._ Zoro thinks, making a mental note to give the dog a scratch behind the ear if they get out of here alive.

Ace runs across the left walkway, towards the office doors, then skids to a halt as a huge man crosses their path.

The huge man takes a clumsy swing at Ace, which he quickly ducks under, and gets a round of buckshot to his toe for his trouble. The squeal he makes is ear-piercing.

“You two keep going, go find him!” Ace yells as he slams the butt of the gun into the huge man’s nose. 

Zoro runs along the line of office doors, kicking at a rusted lock before moving on. He can see into through a sheet of broken glass, but it’s only filled with crates. Zoro stops at a door near the back of the warehouse, a trickle of water is running out from underneath it.

“Luffy?” Zoro calls, and the man crosses the distance in a matter of moments. Luffy has to put his shoulder to the rusty door before it opens with a bang. The water is coming from a sink in the corner of the room, the faucets still noisily pouring water into it.

Lying slumped in the corner, in a puddle of water, is Sanji.

Zoro’s stomach drops as he kneels over him and picks up his limp wrist to check for a pulse. His own heart is hammering too badly to tell whether there’s one there or not. His stomach twists when he examines his hands, his little finger and ring finger are bloodied stumps, and his middle finger has a deep gash in it, like someone started to cut it off but gave up halfway.

His lower lip is split almost in two, and every part of his body Zoro can see is dark with bruises. 

He grabs him and shakes him, yelling right in his ear. “Hey, hey asshole! Your- your cooking is _terrible_ ! I’ve eaten roadkill that tastes better! Wake up, _please_!”

Sanji doesn’t move, and says nothing.

 

* * *

 

 

Luffy watches as Zoro shakes Sanji, with his head falling limply back into the puddle of water. His eyes fix on Sanji’s bloody fingers and the stumps of where his ring and little fingers used to be. 

_But… we came to get you…_

Luffy steps forward. "Get out of the way, Zoro.”

"What?" 

"He's not breathing, get out of the _way!"_

Luffy kneels over Sanji and tilts his head back, he pinches his nose shut before breathing air into his mouth, then does it again until Sanji’s chest swells slightly. He presses the heel of his palm into Sanji's chest and laces his other over it, then starts pressing down hard.

"Is he-" Zoro starts, Luffy doesn’t wait for him to finish his sentence before turning to scream at him.

"I DON'T KNOW! SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF MY LIGHT!"

Zoro backs off and Luffy glares down at his hands, trying to find the right rhythm for the compressions again. He’s done CPR plenty of times, but never on a friend.

_What was the song again? Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive._

It’s even harder to concentrate when Ace comes blundering into the room, limping and covered with sweat and blood. The shotgun drops from his hands with a clatter.

_Come on Sanji!_

His arms start to get tired, but he doesn’t stop, only presses harder. Something crunches under his hands and he’s certain he just broke a bone or two. He only stops when he hears a choke and Sanji jerks upright, turning to puke water onto the floor. He gazes blearily around and Luffy wonders if he can see anything with his eye bruised shut like that. His face is such a mess of bloody saliva and vomit that Luffy can’t even find it in him to be relieved.

"Lu- Lu...ff…y?" Sanji chokes out. "Wh… what are you… do-" he chokes and breaks off into a coughing fit.

"Shush, don't try to talk." 

He makes Sanji lie on his side in the recovery position and he takes off his red coat to wrap around his shoulders. He listens to his ragged breaths until he's convinced he won’t stop breathing again, while stroking his strange, short black hair. Eventually he looks up at Zoro and Ace, looking like a pair of frozen statues. Luffy tries to not think about what would have happened if they had found him a minute or two later. "Get him out of here, no matter what happens to me.”

"Luffy-”

“I SAID GET HIM OUT OF HERE."

Both men recoil at the volume of his voice. He doesn’t care. 

He takes off his straw hat and places it over Sanji’s head before he leaves, not thinking about anything but _find who did this, find them, make them pay._ From behind him, he hears a thin but agonized wail as Ace tries to gather Sanji into his arms.

"It’s gonna hurt him, but you _have_ to do it! Ace we have to go!" Zoro says.

There’s another cry as Ace picks up the sodden, whimpering bundle and carries him through the doorway.

“Hold on, you didn’t think you were getting out of here _alive_ now, did you?”

A man in a red suit blocks the walkway ahead of them, his imposing form silhouetted against the huge arched windows, while the blonde with the horned hat blocks them on the other side. He pulls out a gun and aims it at Ace with a grin and a cooing chuckle. 

Luffy takes a shuddering inhale when he sees the blood covering red-suit’s hands.

_You._

“What did you do to him?” Luffy says.

“Oh, you mean Vinsmoke, is he your friend? We beat him for _hours_ , fuckin’ idiot clearly had a death wish, I was just… giving him what he wanted.” He pulls out a gun with a smile. “Drop your weapon, or else.”

Luffy clenches his fists. “I don’t have one.”

The man pauses before throwing his head back and crowing with laughter.

“You came here without a weapon?”

His gun is in the pocket of the jacket he wrapped around Sanji. _Couldn’t hit anything with it anyway, I’m crap with it._

Luffy steps protectively in front of the others as the man steps closer. There’s a scrutinising look behind the glasses, curiosity behind the sneer. “Who… _are_ you? I know a little shrimp like you didn’t scare off Crocodile alone.”

Luffy cracks his knuckles. “It doesn’t matter who I am. You hurt Sanji, and I’m going to _kick your ass_.”

“Oh, you are, huh?” Red-suit pulls down the hammer. “You’re going to risk your life for a corpse? He’s already _dead_!”

A growl echoes through the room, from right behind red-suit. Sunny lurches out of the darkness with her teeth flashing and slams into his back.

“GO!” Luffy screams at Ace. Before horn-hat can react, Ace is shouldering past him with Zoro on his heels. Zoro takes the opportunity to boot the staggered man in the chest and he sends him tumbling over the rails with a scream.

_Nice, Zoro!_

Luffy watches Sunny grapple with red-suit, her jaws are locked firmly around his arm and her head whipping back and forth wildly. Luffy takes the opportunity to kick the gun out of his reach where it spins away over the edge of the walkway.

He glances over to see Ace and Zoro bolt towards the stairwell. _Good, Sanji will be safe with them._

As he looks back, Sunny yelps with pain as red-suit throws her off him. Luffy doesn’t see the knife until red-suit plunges it into his upper arm.

He barely feels it.

Luffy slams his hand into the man’s thick neck and slams his fist straight into the bridge of his nose. Glass shards slice into his knuckles as he breaks his stupid red sunglasses, and the man makes a savage roar as he slams Luffy’s face into the guard rail. A numbing pain spreads across his face, but it only serves to make him angrier. He throws red-suit off his back and sways to his feet, hot with the sheer fury of a thousand fucking suns as he runs foward.

Luffy screams, and pushes him out the window.

 

* * *

  
  


Zoro pauses and waits for Ace to catch up. Their progress out the building is slowed by the snow falling thick around them, and the way Sanji cries out every time Ace tries to hurry or puts his foot down a little heavily. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Zoro hears Ace muttering as they sprint back towards the truck.

Zoro turns back at a loud crash and a window on the second floor explodes outwards. Two people plunge out of it, the man in the red suit hits the ground first, then Luffy after him, tumbling down the ice-slick staircase.

“LUFFY!” Zoro screams, as Luffy rolls to a stop, bleeding from hundreds of cuts on his bare arms and legs.

Luffy pushes himself upright on shaking arms then staggers to his feet. To Zoro’s shock, he crouches over the unconscious man and starts punching him in the face.

All he and Ace can do is watch open-mouthed as he screams and batters his fists against the man. Shards of glass fall out of his hair and off his clothes, and he pauses only to loose a gob of spit onto his bruised, bleeding face. When Luffy moves to stand up, his foot slides on the ice and Zoro notices he lost a sandal. He runs to go slip an arm around his waist and Luffy falls against him, breathing hard. Zoro’s throat clenches when he realises he’s been stabbed.

_Oh hell… Luffy..._

He doesn't look back to check if the man is dead or alive, all he cares about is getting the fuck out of here. 

 

Luffy heaves himself onto the back of the truck with Sunny, while Zoro is forced to have the half-frozen barman across his lap.

The back of the truck swings wildly as Ace guns the engine and drives them back down the dark coastal road, back towards the city. Zoro turns up the heat as high as it will go and directs the vents at Sanji, his skin is cold as stone, and there’s a disturbing blue tint to his lips. He’s terrified that the stupid cook will stop breathing, every time his head lolls for even a second Zoro shakes him awake again. And each time there’s a confusion in his eyes, like he totally forgot what plane of existence he’s on. 

“Stay awake idiot!” Zoro snaps.

Sanji blinks, unfocused and terrified before his rolling eyes settle on Zoro, they narrow a little in recognition.

“Yeah, you remember me?”

“Oh… it’s you… you saved me?” Sanji coughs, splattering Luffy’s hat with blood, “that’s ‘mbarrasing… Don’t… don’t tell A- ce…”

This time his eyes roll back into his head and his head slumps into Zoro’s lap. The brief shakes turn into vicious pinches and slaps. 

“No… Stay AWAKE!” When he doesn’t respond still, Zoro claws at him until he’s probably hurting him as bad as his tormenters did, because he _can’t_ die, otherwise the truth dies with him. Not just that, but he knows if Sanji dies, Ace and Luffy won’t be the same.

Zoro roars, at a volume that almost makes Ace drive off the side of the road, “STAY AWAKE _GODDAMNIT_!”

 

* * *

 

When they get to the free clinic, the young nurse stares at them with wide brown eyes. Luffy, shivering with cold-burned skin and bleeding heavily. Ace, blank-eyed with Sanji in his arms. And Zoro well… he already looked a mess to begin with.

The nurse starts to say something, then seems to think better of it. 

“Bring him this way.” he says, in a curiously light voice considering he’s almost as tall as Ace and nearly as muscular. He knocks on the door of Law’s office and speaks to the man inside.

“Um, Doctor Law, I need your help.”

Law gives them an evil look when he looks up from his desk. He gets up and lifts up Luffy’s hat to look at Sanji, fighting for breaths that seem to get slower with every passing minute.

“You absolute _idiots.”_ Law says. “What did I _fucking_ say?!”  
Luffy looks up at him.  
“Please… We’ll do anything, so _please…”_

Law’s eyes flick over him coldly, before he swipes a hand over his eyes.

“Tony, go and help that one while I stop this idiot from bleeding all over my floors.”

“Yes doctor.”

 

* * *

 

 

Sanji wakes up.

He expects to be disappointed, but he’s more baffled than anything. There's no soaked clothes clinging to his skin, just warm woolen blankets around his body, and a straw hat by his feet.

_Luffy…?_

He tries to prop himself up on his elbows, then yells in pain as pain flares across his ribs and abdomen.

“Hey, don’t try to move.” someone says, pressing a heavy arm across his shoulders and pressing him back down. The voice belongs to the exact last person Sanji expected to see. “Luffy broke two of your ribs doing CPR.”

“A...ce?” Sanji blinks and looks over to see him sitting in a chair beside his bed. 

The corners of Ace’s mouth curl in a strained smile, “Hey... stranger.”

"Hey... yourself… wh-where am I?"

The last thing he remembers is passing out when Doffy started slicing through his middle finger, vaguely recalling the man dropping him onto the concrete like a broken toy.

“You’re at the clinic, don’t try to get up.”

He looks around the room, squinting on account of his bruised and half-shut eye. Luffy is standing over him, covered from head to toe in bandages and looking exceptionally pissed off. 

“Luffy… wh- how the hell did you find me? I didn’t t-think… ‘nyone would find me…”

“Of course we found you, you stupid!” Luffy snaps, with his arms folded across his chest. His nose is running and his skin is tinted pink with cold. “You fucking _idiot!_ How did you get yourself caught?!”

"Luffy…” Sanji’s eyes fill with tears and he moves his head to avoid looking at him, he can’t take the intensity of his glare. 

“You _said_ you’d be okay, you LIED to me! I thought you knew what you were doing!”

"I-I thought I did too. God, f-fuck- I'm _sorry_ …”

It’s too much to face Luffy’s anger, his ex, and that fucking _cop_ too, for some God forsaken reason. Just breathing in and out hurts and he’s convinced this is all a dream, that he’s going to wake up and still be tied to that chair. He turns his head to hide the tears pricking at his eyes.

“Luffy that’s enough, go wait outside. Zoro, you too.” Ace says firmly.

He watches Luffy stride out with the cop at his side. He doesn't have the energy to ask why he's with them, as much as he wants to know why he’s putting his arm around Luffy like that.

 

Once they've left, Ace digs around in his coat pocket and pulls out his lighter. 

“I think this belongs to you.”

Ace hands it to him and he absently runs his thumb over the engraved metal, before his stiff, bandaged fingers drop it onto the sheets.

"I dropped it in case someone might see it and know to look for me… never thought it would be you."

"You scared the shit out of me Sanji." Ace shakes his head slightly, with a blush creeping across his nose  "Out of _us_ I mean…"

Sanji opens his mouth, wanting to tell him how much it means to him to go from freezing and half-drowned in some warehouse to safe and warm. 

 _Not the first time he saved me._ He reminds himself.

“Ace… they told me… that they sent someone after you… I thought…”  
“Yeah, they did.”

“They told me they… they know where to find you and-”

Ace huffs out a laugh. “Fuck... Sanji... they kidnapped you, and you were worrying about _us_?”

Ace smiles weakly at him then looks away again with tears shining in his eyes. He lowers his shaggy head as he starts to cry. 

“Sanji look, whatever happened with us in the past... it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m just really glad you’re okay!”

Sanji gives him a trembling smile, “You call this okay? I probably look like a drowned rat...”

Ace gently cups his face with both hands and lightly swipes his thumb over the curve of his jaw, setting off a thousand confusing feelings he'd tried to convince himself he had put to bed a long time ago, a few warm teardrops hit Sanji’s face.

"Ace, stop…"

Ace’s breath puffs against his skin as he breathes out a husky “Why?”

"I can't do this again… and…and if you start kissing me, I don't think I have the energy to stop you."

There’s a look in Ace’s eyes which tells him he plans on doing it anyway.

Warm, soft lips crash against his cold, numb ones. He starts shaking and crying, wanting to push him away, to tell him _nonono ace i don’t deserve this i don’t deserve_ you _i never have,_ but instead he curls his bandaged fingers into his coarse black hair and clings for dear life.

"Ace…" Sanji whispers as he pulls away "stay with me."

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere."

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *straps on an army helmet*
> 
> *hides in a bunker*
> 
> S-s-so… what did you guys think??? 
> 
> Doffy: man no one will miss this chef guy, guess I can do what I want LOL  
> Luffy: *slams door open* X GON GIVE IT TO YA FUCK WAIT FOR YOUR TO GET IT ON YOUR OWN X GON D’LIVER IT TO YA KNOCK KNOCK OPEN UP THE DOOR IT’S REAL WIT’ THE NON-STOP POP POP AND STAINLESS STEEL 
> 
> Okay realtalk… writing this chapter was… hard. Sanji has come to mean a lot to me in-between writing this and my other fic Reminder which is WEIRD for a lot of reasons but as Mikey Neumann said... sometimes we just pick out the weird shit and CLING to it. Sanji is for all intents and purposes my emotional support (cough punching bag) character now and it utterly devastates me that he will probably never live up to his true potential in canon because of Oda’s pervy bullshit. godDAMN.  
> Maybe it was a bit bold of me to change a major character's appearance like that but… Stealth Black anyone??  
> He also ended up looking a lot like Chris Cornell in my mind so *sweats* Yeah… I’ve listened to WAY too much Audioslave while writing this. (Miss you Chris).
> 
> I don’t own DMX songs or the Bee Gees song Stayin’ Alive. It’s a real thing in CPR training to use that song for the beat of compressions by the way. Don’t sue me please, I don’t have any money.
> 
> Watch this space cause you might be seeing a fun little extra bonus chapter soon, what do I mean by bonus??? UMMMM WELL LET’S FIND OUT (◉ ͜ʖ◉) 
> 
> (it’s zolu smut, I wrote smut I already wrote it SHUT UP)
> 
> (this fic is already bordering on 30 pages but i just have one more thing to say…  
> ACESAN IS ALIVE AND KICKING BABEY *FIRES TWIN REVOLVERS INTO THE AIR*)
> 
> ALSO THANK YOU LOGAN FOR BETA READING YOU SAVED MY LIFE DOG I OWE YOU


	6. Free Animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when everything hurts and it feels like nothing will be okay ever again?  
> Well, Zoro has an idea or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ATTENTION Y’ALL, THIS IS NOT A FULL CHAPTER! (Heaven fucking forfend, chapter 5 took SO long to write.) It's more like a chapter 5.5 if anything.  
> Uh yeah, it’s smut, so if you’re not here for that I’ll see you for the next one… whenever that’ll be.  
> Think of this as a small interlude… an interlewd (I didn’t make that joke up, it is in fact a Chevelle song, which is a really nice instrumental actually, go listen to it.)
> 
> No beta reader, if I made any punctuation errors that is why and also I don’t care. I’M SO TIRED, PLEASE ENJOY THE PORN.

* * *

 

“Luffy try to calm down, it’s over!”  
“I CAN’T calm down!”

Luffy slaps Zoro’s arm away as he lets the double doors bang closed behind him. “You SAW what they did to him! How can you tell me to calm down?!”

Zoro sighs and hurries after him with worry twisting at his gut. Even though Luffy is pale and half-frozen, covered with bandages and unsteady in a way that anyone looking by would think he were drunk, he almost looks like he's still ready to fight someone.

Zoro almost wants to go and ask Ace what he’s supposed to do when Luffy’s boundless energy gets channelled into the wrong places. Watching him beat on the man in the red suit after he was already laid out unconscious had been… more than a little terrifying. The few people left in the clinic turn to stare at them as Luffy paces up and down with his fists clenched. His hair hanging about his face, wet through with melted snow and his missing sandal only serves to make him look more crazed.

Zoro manages to catch him by the hand, “Hey, let's go somewhere quiet. Come with me.”

He pulls him down the empty corridors, poking his head into different rooms until he finds an empty, dark exam room. He pushes Luffy inside and jams a chair against the lock to keep it closed. Zoro gently cups his shoulder and strokes down his arm, careful when he reaches the coarse bandage Law wrapped around his stab wound. 

“What do you need, what can I do for you?”

“I don’t know… I don’t know, I don’t know-!”

“Shhh Luffy… You really worried me back there.” he leans down and presses his face against Luffy’s shoulder, circling an arm around his body and pulling him close, “Fuck, you’re freezing.”

Luffy throws himself into Zoro’s body and clings around his waist. He lets out a shuddering breath as he buries his head against Zoro’s chest.

“You saw what they did to him -  his _hands…”_ Luffy whispers.

"He's safe now, Ace will stay with him while he rests. You should rest too."

Luffy scowls up at him, "I don't _wanna_ rest." The scowl fades as his eyes flick back and forth, something uncertain and a little vulnerable in the way he says, "Please just… distract me. I don’t care how.”

 _Well, I can think of_ one _thing…_

Zoro feels almost guilty thinking about it, when Luffy is distraught, their bodies are trashed and everything has gone so, so wrong.

But the way Luffy leans up on his toes and slips his tongue into Zoro's mouth makes him wonder if that's what he actually meant. Then, the hard outline of his erection pressing against Zoro's thigh turns that into, _Nope, that's_ definitely _what he meant._

Zoro tugs him down onto the floor and lays him down, kissing every part of him that isn’t covered in cuts or bruises… which admittedly doesn't leave much left. He carefully moves his lips down Luffy's throat, feeling more than hearing the slight groan he makes and tasting the sweat and blood that collected around the base of his throat. 

Zoro sits back on his heels and pushes Luffy's torn shirt up to expose the hard muscles of his stomach. When he fumbles one-handed with the button on Luffy's shorts, his bruised hands impatiently slap him away. He quickly slips himself out of his boxers and gives Zoro a begging look, "Use your mouth...?" Luffy blurts, then looks off to one side, blushing. "If you want to that is… Please?"

Zoro smirks as he props himself up on an elbow, eager to please. "Whatever you say, chief".

Luffy shudders and makes a throaty groan as Zoro slides his mouth down his shaft and lets his throbbing tip bump the back of his throat. He would be happy to give Luffy what he needs and let him come in his mouth, but his own need is driving him crazy. He's wanted it from practically the moment he first met the guy.

He gives Luffy one or two teasing licks before slipping his mouth off again. 

Luffy lets out a little disappointed “Zoro…?” as he gets up and starts searching in the cupboards, finding something called ‘medical lubricating jelly’ and figuring it’s better than nothing. He rips open the box and grabs a few packets. The tiles are hard on his knees as he straddles Luffy's thighs, but he figures it'll be worth the bruises. He shoves a hand into his pocket to reach for his wallet, knowing he has a condom in there somewhere.

When he finds it, he tosses the little packet onto Luffy's chest while he tries to unzip his jeans. Luffy finally puts two and two together and his bruised hands eagerly reach up to help him wriggle out of them. 

Once he’s naked from the waist down, he glances back towards the door. The last thing he wants is for some doctor to burst in and see his bare ass while he's riding his boyfriend for the first time. When he's sure the chair he shoved under the handle isn't going anywhere, he rips open the condom with his teeth and strokes it down Luffy's length. His dark eyes are wide with anticipation as Zoro rips a packet of lube open with his teeth and spills it messily over him. He opens a second to slick over his fingers, then sighs as he reaches behind him to work his fingers into himself.

Luffy watches him with flushed cheeks, holding his hips steady as he stretches himself out. The attention is almost too much as Luffy watches him, propped up on his elbows and carefully watching his face.

When he imagined making love to Luffy properly, he didn’t think he’d be doing it in a hospital room after one of the top five worst nights of his life, but all those thoughts leave his mind as he presses Luffy against him and eases himself slowly down. _Fuck... have mercy, that feels good._

Luffy’s hips shudder with impatience as he rides his tip, slipping him in and out as he adjusts to his size. He pushes Luffy's shirt up and splays his palm against the rough scar on his chest as he sinks down, only making it about halfway before having to slip off again.

“Does it hurt?" Luffy says quietly.

“N-no, it's a little uncomfortable at first, but then it starts to feel good…" Zoro's breath hitches as he sinks down again, " _Really_ good." A stuttering moan passes his lips when he takes Luffy fully inside him and a few drops of sweat bead his forehead. He knows he’s going to be sore as hell afterwards, through his own impatience and not enough warm up, but Luffy needs this.

 _Hell,_ I _need this._

Luffy’s hands move to his hips again, thumbing over the jut of his hips as he starts to ride him with languid movements. Every pass sends a tremble of pleasure shooting up his spine and a groan of pleasure out his mouth that's just slightly too loud. Luffy can't seem to take his eyes off Zoro's face, to the point where it gets a little embarrassing. The intensity of Luffy's dark eyes threaten to end this faster than Zoro wants.

"What… are you staring at?" Zoro pants, 

"You, dummy, you look _so_ good right now." Luffy huffs back, with a little smile. His hands roam over every part of Zoro's skin he can reach - scratching lightly over his lower back and squeezing down his butt.

His hips keep bucking up to meet him, his hips angled in just the right way to make Zoro whimper and bite his lip.

Zoro shouts with surprise as Luffy grabs him and suddenly pulls him down, making him take every inch of him. He’s more than happy to let him take control, when he’s already exhausted and Luffy has a lot of pent-up energy to release. 

He hunches over Luffy’s chest as he pulls him down, thrusting up into him at the same time, he has to twist his hand into Luffy’s shirt as an anchor.

"Y-yeah… r-right there… fuck-"

A hot flush of embarrassment floods his cheeks, knowing he can’t hold back his groans, that someone could knock on the door at any moment and ask what the fuck is going on. He can’t even clamp a hand over his mouth, in fear that if he lets go for a moment he’ll collapse onto Luffy’s chest like a fucking moron. 

“ _Ah- AHHH! Luffy-!”_

The rush of pleasure starts at the base of his spine and rushes through his hips, so intense that it feels like it’s never going to stop. Luffy comes with gritted teeth and feral gasps, pounding him so hard his mind goes blank.

Zoro pants in rough, out of control gasps, feeling Luffy twitch inside him as he rides out the remainder of his orgasm. hoping there’s some paper towels or something in the room that will help them clean up the mess, and willing himself to not collapse into Luffy’s arms like he wants to.

“That's one way to distract me." Luffy says, jolting him out of his fucked-out haze and making him remember to slide off and remove the condom before they make more of a mess.

Luffy looks up at Zoro, propped up on one elbow and smiling gently. Zoro is quietly relieved that he seems calmer, more himself again.

“Worked, did it?” Zoro mumbles. 

He wearily gets to his feet, even though his knees are trembling and it's the last thing he wants to do. He scavenges a roll of towels and tosses them at Luffy, before he begins the weary process of locating his clothes and pulling them back on.

Once they’re dressed and the evidence is discreetly shoved into the bin, Luffy presses Zoro up against the exam table and leans his head against his chest tiredly. “I'm sorry I yelled at you…"

“Don’t be, if that was my friend... I'd be yelling too."

"That night I went to see him after the car wreck… I should've told him to stay with me. I’m such an _idiot_ …”

“No… you saved his life Luffy. You’re a hero, and you're a good friend.”

Luffy glances up at him, shyly almost, with liquid brown eyes. “C’mon, let’s go find somewhere to sleep."

“Please…” Zoro mutters. As he kicks the chair away from the door he wants nothing more, except maybe for no-one to have noticed them screwing in an exam room. That turns out to be a little more than a pipe dream as they walk out and Zoro immediately locks eyes with Victor Frankenstein, who shoots them a death glare over his cup of coffee. Zoro clears his throat and tugs Luffy's hand to pull him out of Law's attack range.

 

Zoro picks the first empty room with a bed he sees and tugs Luffy down next to him on the bed. He takes off his jacket and lays it over Luffy like a blanket, still worried about his raw cold-burned skin.

"I'm still a little shocked. At those two I mean." Zoro mumbles as he presses his body close to Luffy and tries to get comfy on the narrow bed.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me. If you and me get married… ” Luffy says lazily, spreading his arms behind his head. “You are _definitely_ going to have to try to get along with Sanji."

"Shut the fuck _up_ !" Zoro chuckles. _Married?!_

"No I mean it!" Luffy says, grinning, "If I marry you and Ace marries Sanji… We'll all be family!"

Zoro snorts and shoves his middle finger in Luffy's face. Luffy kisses it. Right now it seems a small price to pay, after finding out how good getting fucked by Luffy really is.

Zoro shuffles closer so he can rest his head on his chest and feel the steady thump of his heart, while Luffy's hand comes up to slowly stroke through his hair. The thought of marrying him some day puts a funny flutter in his chest and heat in his cheeks. Going to sleep every night safe and warm in his arms, as well as utterly sated and satisfied… He could get used to this.

"I didn't think Ace would go for Mr Silver Spoon. It's a little weird is all."

“For you maybe,” Luffy chuffs, “those two have had it bad for years." He gets a distant look in his eyes as he stares towards the ceiling.

“They were so happy together… I never cared about relationships and stuff until I saw them and thought… ‘Maybe I could have something like that one day’.”

“So you’ve never had a…?”

Luffy turns towards him and gives him the full honest attention of his gaze. “No, not before you.”

“So, I'm kind of a fluke, huh?"

Luffy gives him a quirky frown, "I saw you and I know I wanted to have you, one way or another. How does that make you a _fluke_?”

Zoro doesn't have a reply, he turns to hide his blush in Luffy's shirt.

“I love you, Zoro.”

The sudden declaration, muffled by Luffy's lips moving against his hair takes him by surprise and makes him want to cry.

“I… love you too.”

Zoro shuts his eye and instantly starts to drift off, safe and secure in the warm tangle of their bodies.

_Yep, could definitely get used to this._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zoro finally rode that dick HUH?  
> **THE PRICE IS RIGHT THEME**
> 
> (sorry)
> 
> Now I know everyone has their own opinions but… realtalk…. Top!Zoro is the worst take ever. He'd probably like to think of himself as a power bottom but he's wrong and would get laughed out of the room by real power bottoms. I equate top!Zoro and bottom!Luffy with that antiquated ya*i bullshit and you can keep that shit out of my HOUSE. OUT.
> 
> Okay rant over. I tried doing something a little different from the last time I wrote smut so… let me know what you thought!  
> See you next chapter, whenever that'll be!


	7. No Quarter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji is safe, but the danger hasn't passed. Zoro has a nasty surprise waiting for him at home, and other friends might be in danger...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be a more chill chapter (haha geddit cause it’s snowing - sorry) because I know chapter 5 was… A Lot. I'm giving myself a break here due to some heavy irl stuff going on and I think it was about time we had a breather anyway. Absolutely nothing happens in this chapter. No, I’m serious. Ah fuck it… y’all aren’t going to trust anything I say anymore after chapter 5.  
> Not saying I’m giving any CHARACTERS in this story a break, but if I have to write another hardcore action segment anytime soon I'm gonna break my laptop over my knee.  
> ENJOY!

(before you read, please check out [Mel's amazing art](https://watermelon-chan.tumblr.com/post/187971348650/if-yall-aint-reading-tiger-by-the-tail-by) of Sanji from my fic in case you're not sold on short hair Sanji, I love it and I love HER.  Also the [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6cZ9scZNPphwQyVY7i0YyI?si=ZqNHaq8UTMWh-iq2m6CeiA) if you are so inclined.  
Okay enjoy for real this time!)  
  
  


* * *

 

"Please breathe for me."

Sanji breathes in carefully, and a thousand cold needles press into his sternum.

"And out." the nurse says. He wheezes the breath back out like an old man and the nurse takes his stethoscope off Sanji’s back.

"That's good, your lungs seem to be free of water. Try to stay inside as much as possible,” the nurse continues in his soft voice, “you could be vulnerable to catching pneumonia. Oh and... this goes without saying, but you shouldn't smoke-”

The glare Sanji gives the nurse makes him timidly hop back a step. He holds up a pair of the hairiest arms Sanji has ever seen, “I-I don’t mean permanently, it’s your choice. But… your lungs definitely need a break. No smoking for a week or two… at- at least.”

Sanji breathes out heavily through his nose and ignores the concerned look Ace flashes him from where he sits at his side. 

"Um, normally I wouldn't rush you, but Dr Law wants you to hurry out, we have other patients and we normally don't keep anyone overnight." 

"We understand, thank you for all your help doctor Chopper. We can't thank you enough." Ace says earnestly, clapping the nurse on the shoulder. The young nurse doesn't know how to take a compliment and wrings his hands together. 

"I'm not a doctor, dummy! Not yet anyway… Oh, here are your clothes."

Sanji grumbles out a barely audible thanks and the nurse leaves to let him dress. He tugs off his hospital gown and stares at his shirt and waistcoat, which are dry now, but still absolutely covered in bloodstains. Ever since yesterday - god, was it only yesterday? - he’s had a sense of disconnect, like everything that happened was just a dream. He only has to look down at the missing digits on his left hand to remind himself that it wasn’t.

It takes him a minute to realise Ace is staring at him.

"Would you _please_ turn around?" Sanji snaps at him.

"Right, my bad." 

Ace hops off the exam table and goes to stare out the window. It takes Sanji a while to navigate his arms into the sleeves, and even longer to get his legs back into his pants. Pain seizes his ribs every time he bends slightly, and he hisses through his teeth when he bends to pull them up. Ace glances at him from over his shoulder, "Do you uh, need-" 

"A _hand_?" Sanji finishes for him angrily. 

"...Help, I was gonna say help. It's not like I haven't seen you naked before." 

Sanji fumes as he hurries to button up his shirt.

"Okay… inappropriate, sorry. I don't have enough exes to know how I should act around them."

"How about staying quiet, that would be a start!" 

“...Alright.”

Ace folds his arms and pretends to study a board of medical flyers, all the while tapping his foot. Sanji was so pathetically grateful to have Ace at his side the night before, but now he desperately wishes it were anyone else. As he slips his tie on, he thinks about the conversation he’d had with Luffy back at the beach house.

 

_“Uh, Luffy if anything happens to me, could you tell Ace I…”_

_“Tell him… Tell him- shit…”_

_“Why should I tell him anything?! You can tell him yourself when you get back!"_

 

What _was_ he going to ask him to tell Ace? Probably best he had shut his mouth before he said anything embarrassing. He grimaces again as he slips on his waistcoat, then spends a stupid amount of time trying to get his shoes on. He’d rather throw himself into the river than ask his ex for help tying them. He tries not to cry out as he gets to his feet, but a growl comes out from between his teeth anyway. 

"I gotta find Luffy and Zoro before we leave, you okay to walk?" Ace says, offering an arm to help him upright.

"Yeah. Whatever." 

Sanji slaps away his arm as he limps out through the doors, with his other hand guarding his ribs, it feels like his body is going to break into splinters if he lets go.

He only makes it halfway down the corridor before having to stop and lean on the wall to catch his breath. Nearby, Luffy pops out of a doorway draped in an oversized green coat, and so many bandages Sanji is surprised he can still move. He rankles to see the yawning, green-haired cyclops following behind him. 

"Oh, Sanji, you're okay to go?" Luffy says, a little tiredly as he rubs the sleep from one eye. 

"As I'll ever be-" he says, the point punctuated when he breaks off into a vicious coughing fit that makes his vision go fuzzy at the edges. 

When it subsides, he realises Ace slipped an arm around his waist to support him. He's secretly glad, he doesn't trust his legs to hold him upright. 

"Where did you two go last night?" Ace asks Luffy. 

"Nothing, I mean - nowhere! Sleeping. We were sleeping and not doing anything else!"  
“Uh, okay? I assumed you were.”

“...Oh.”

The cop is putting a hand over his flushed face, “Luffy... _please_ shut up.”

"...I shouldn't have asked, should I?" Ace mutters. 

 _Oh god, are you kidding me?_ Sanji thinks, staring daggers at the cop. If it weren’t for his busted ribs and Ace’s arm being the only thing keeping him upright, Sanji would kick his ass right then and there.

“C’mon, let’s go,” Ace says, “before that doctor tries to steal our kidneys.” He pulls Sanji away before he can finish his internal debate over whether risking a punctured lung is worth getting a kick or two in.

Luffy and the cop go on ahead with their fingers casually twined and Sanji stares at their backs in disgust, “Since when has Luffy been interested in _anyone,_ let alone _that_ fucking meathead?” Sanji mutters.

“I dunno, try asking him that.” Ace says.

“I'm going to kick his dick off."  
“Relax, that’s my job... if he makes Luffy cry.”

They have to stop before they reach the glass double doors of the clinic entrance, Sanji’s breath comes in short little wheezes and his lungs burn from the effort of walking the length of the small building. 

“Um, Ace, about the- about… last night.”

The question he wants to ask hovers in the air, _Why’d you kiss me you big idiot, you’re the one who dumped_ me! 

Ace winces, and can’t seem to look him in the eye, “Can we talk about it later?”  
Sanji nods heavily. The longer they postpone the very shitty conversation they need to have, the better.

“Hold up, it’s freezing out there.”

Ace wraps Luffy’s red coat around him and shoves the straw hat onto his head. Everything Ace does still manages to make him feel small.

 

Back at the truck, Sunny raises her head dopily from under a small blanket of snow and utters a small 'boof' to greet them. 

"You okay riding on the back, Zoro?" Ace calls.

"Yeah, fine I guess." 

The big lug makes a disgusted noise as Sunny shakes and transfers the snow from her fur to his sweater, and a small smile creeps onto Sanji’s face as he pulls himself into the cab.

He hunches down in his seat as Luffy parks himself next to him, then gives him back his straw hat.  
“Sorry… I think I got blood on it.” Sanji mutters.

Luffy takes the hat, examining it while picking at a drop here and there. He shoves it back onto his head wordlessly and stares out the window. Sanji is still wondering about all the bandages on his bare legs, around his knuckles and the cuts all over his face and neck. He’s far more pale than Sanji has ever seen him and he gets the urge to ask if he’s eaten lately.

“You’re angry, I get it. I’d be angry at me too.” Sanji says, “You can smack me a couple times if you think you’ll feel better…”

Luffy scowls out the window, “Tell me what you actually want to say, Sanji.” he says quietly. For such a simple person, the shit that matters never gets past him.

“You saved my life didn’t you? I’m sorry… that you had to do that.” Sanji mutters.

Luffy grabs his face and presses their foreheads together.

“Dumbass.” he sighs.

  
  


* * *

 

The bustle and noise inside Franky House grinds to a silent halt when Sanji walks in, or staggers more like. He's wheezing like a worn out air mattress from the short walk from the truck into the building and hanging off Ace’s shoulder. 

Sunny pads along beside Zoro. Since he gave her the payment he promised her of some ear scratches, she hasn’t left him alone. His sweater is covered in reddish hair from the ride over. Robin is at her desk when they walk into the room with the fireplace, but she stands up and knocks over her chair with a clatter when she sees Sanji. He shoots her a weak smile and waves with his bandaged hand, "Hello Mrs. Nico… I kinda fucked up." 

The smile drops and his eyes glaze over a little. Ace has to hold onto him as he slumps into a faint, "Sanji-!"

Ace carries him over to the couch next to the fire and Robin gathers him onto her lap, pinching his cheeks and flicking cold water into his face until he opens his eyes.

"You could have at least said goodbye." Robin says.

"I thought… The longer I stayed, the more danger it could put you in." Sanji wheezes, with a weak cough. 

Robin frowns at him, "You're a very silly boy."

"You were worried about me, Mrs. Nico? I'm flattered…" He looks up at her adoringly with a dumb smile spreading across his face.

Franky looms over the back of the couch with his thick arms folded, "Kid, I know you're in bad shape, but if you use it as an excuse to flirt with my wife, I will bury you in a shallow grave."

"...Noted." 

Sanji falls back into Robin's arms, clearly pretending to not enjoy himself as Robin pushes his feathery black hair away from his forehead. 

"It's been a funny couple of weeks…" Sanji mutters with his eyes closed, then he jerks back upright with a gasp, "Nami!" They turn to look at him, while he breaks off into a coughing fit. "They- they know where she lives, they probably know about Usopp too - everyone!"

"Let us worry about that, you need to stay right there. Don’t move.” Ace says.

 

Zoro leaves the room to check his phone and he quickly realises it’s dead. It's been over two days since he was last at home and he forgot to charge it.

He feels a little foolish when he asks Franky if he can get one and he points to the bar, where there isn’t a single seat that doesn’t have some kind of charging port nearby. Once it has enough charge to turn on, only a couple minutes pass before it rings. 

"Zoro where have you been?! I've been trying to call you for hours!"

"My phone died… Listen Shigs, things got crazy-"

"Zoro, someone broke into your apartment! It's a complete wreck, I thought something might have happened to you!"

"...What?" he says numbly. He considers muting the call to find a quiet room to go scream in, before setting that aside for later, "Shigs are you serious? I don't know how much more I can take…" 

“I’m sorry, but I think some of your things might be missing. You had a sword, right? The white one."

"What?!”

"Everything is such a mess, I can't tell. Can you get over here?" 

"Sure… See you soon." 

 

He strides back into the fireplace lounge, muttering ‘shit, shit, shit!’ under his breath in time with his steps. Robin is tucking Sanji into a huge pile of blankets, while Ace and Luffy hover nearby. They look over curiously as Zoro swipes his hands through his hair.

"Hey so…” Zoro says, “Apparently my place got broken into, and I need to go check out the damages."

"You want me to drive you?" Ace says, but when he walks past the couch, Sanji's hand reaches up and clumsily tangles in his coat.

"Ace-! Don't… don't go…" Sanji looks up at him, pleading and embarrassed at the same time.

Ace leans down and Zoro faintly hears him whisper, "You're the only thing that makes sense to me right now…"

"I…"

"Ace it's okay, we'll get there some other way." Luffy says, "You stay and look after him."

Ace sighs and gently detaches Sanji’s hand from his coat, "You guys gonna be alright?"

"I'll drive them, we'll be fine." Robin says.

"Thanks Mrs. Nico.” Ace hugs Luffy carefully, muttering “Later, you little shit." into his hair. He then steps over to Zoro and pulls him into a one armed hug, 

"Take care of him, yeah?" he mutters in Zoro's ear, “make sure he doesn’t do anything crazy like that again.”

"I will, I promise." 

"And come back here afterwards, we're all sticking together from now on, dammit!" 

Ace shoots a glare over his shoulder at Sanji, who sinks down into the couch and tugs a blanket over his head.

Zoro turns and heads out the room, just in time to see Luffy's ankle go out from under him, and him almost fall headlong onto the floor before Franky catches him.

“Shit kiddo, you good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine!”

Zoro stares at him as Franky picks him up and sets him back on his feet. Every time he looks over at the messy bandages covering Luffy’s body, he remembers the moment of horror when he crashed through the upper window of the warehouse with thousands of shards of glass slicing through his skin. For the couple of minutes before he had gotten up, he had been convinced his new flame had just crashed dead onto the floor.

"Luffy…” the words reluctantly form on Zoro's lips, “Maybe you should stay here too." 

"Huh? Don't be dumb, I'm staying with you."

"You got _stabbed_ last night!" 

"Yeah, I know - I was there. We're all in shit condition, but we have to keep going!" 

"...You look really pale." 

"I just… need something to eat. When was the last time _you_ ate?" 

Zoro's stomach twists unpleasantly at the mention of food, his stomach has been empty so long he's gotten used to the hollow, dizzy feeling. 

"I uh… Found some liquorice in Ace's glove box yesterday." 

"Exactly! I'll be fine, we should grab some food when we're done at your place."  Luffy picks his shoulders up and bounces a little on his heels, “C’mon Zoro!”

Zoro stares after him as he strides out the door, then follows Robin as she digs her keys out of her bag.

"He's going to be the death of me…" he mutters.

Robin hovers a firm finger in Zoro's face, then points over to Luffy.

"Mr Pot, have you met Mr Kettle?" 

  
  


* * *

 

Even with Luffy squeezing his hand, Zoro still isn’t prepared for what he sees at his apartment. His lock is broken and it only takes a gentle push to get inside. His Marimo tank is shattered, and the floor is covered in water and aquarium gravel. His walls are covered with spray paint and the painting Usopp gave him looks like someone purposely shredded it with a knife. His heart drops when he looks to the corner where his household shrine is knocked over.

His hand drops out of Luffy’s as he runs towards it. The cabinet is heavier than it looks and Robin rushes over to help him lift it back upright. Underneath, his pictures of Kuina and Koushiro are shattered, laying forgotten in a pile of broken glass and squashed offerings. He picks the photos out of their ruined frames and stares blankly at the empty stand where his sword Wado used to rest.

_Who would take it, and why?_

A light touch on his shoulder makes him jump out of his skin. 

"Shigs!"

"Zoro! Thank God you’re alright…” to his surprise, she catches him in a fierce hug before looking curiously at Luffy, “And um, you are?"

"I'm Luffy! I'm Zoro's boyfriend!" He says, hooking Zoro's arm over himself.

"Oh, nice to meet you!” she says to Luffy, then turns to Zoro with an extra-irritating smile, “Guess I wasn’t wrong when I said you were smitten.”

“Smitten?” Luffy parrots, “You’re _smitten_ with me?!" He cackles and yanks Zoro’s good arm down to pull him into a messy kiss. 

"Like you weren't talking about getting married after we've been on a total of _one_ date, jackass." Zoro mutters in his ear. Luffy sticks out the tip of his tongue and kisses his nose. 

Tashigi looks decidedly worried as she looks at Robin, who simply smiles back.

"You seem to remember me, Miss detective." 

"Robin Nico, or ‘Miss All Sunday’" Tashigi says with a glare. 

"You make me sound like a villain in a spy thriller." 

"A villain sounds about right…" 

"I put that behind me a long time ago, it was a different life. And I'm sorry for what I did to your leg." 

Zoro and Luffy both stare at Robin in alarm.

“So when you said you worked with Crocodile…” Zoro says slowly, “that means you were with Baroque Works.”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“What the hell are they doing reporting to Mihawk? It’s like the biggest crime groups in the city are joining together.”

"They work closely with men like Doflamingo and Don Krieg, distributing drugs and guns around the city.” Robin says, “It wouldn’t surprise me if Crocodile has been cozying up with Mihawk to get something out of him, protection from the law maybe.”

“Oh, speaking of drugs,” Zoro says, “I think we might have stumbled into the biggest drug operation I’ve ever seen.”

"How? What the hell have you been doing?!" Tashigi stares at him, incredulously at Luffy, covered from head to toe in bandages 

"Because that's where we found Sanji, and _he-"_ Zoro prods Luffy in the cheek, "-pushed the ringleader out a window."

Zoro pulls up an online map of the route they took from the motel to the warehouse. 

"Around here, they've probably started to move their stash by now. It was labelled ‘SMILE’.”

“SMILE, my god... Zoro, we’ve been trying to track the source of that stuff for _years!”_

She pulls her notepad out of her top pocket and eagerly scribbles something down, then pushes her glasses up her nose.

"So you found Sanji?”

"Yeah… he’s seen better days." 

“Any sign of Gin?”

"Sanji said he was gonna put Gin on a plane, get him out of the city." Luffy adds. 

Tashigi pouts at that, "Well, that means we lost a crucial witness but… As long as he's alive." 

She folds her arms over her chest and stares around the ruined apartment, "Why would they take your sword?" 

"To draw me out maybe. They saw me with Luffy so they probably figured we'd be here." 

"Oh, Zoro I found something stuck to your shrine when I got here, does this mean anything to you?" 

She unfolds a small piece of paper and hands it to him. It only says one word, but it stops Zoro's heart:

 

_anniversary._

 

His eye widens as he stares at the neat handwriting. 

"Zoro please, if it means something, you need to tell me. You trust me, right?”

"It's not that I don’t trust you…  I- I just can't explain right now." 

He hurries into his bedroom to search his desk, only to find that the Don Krieg file is also gone. Of course he left the damn thing open on his desk where any idiot could find it. 

Tashigi follows him in. 

"Shigs, I don't suppose you took the Don Krieg file while I was out?" 

"No…” she adopts a deer in the headlights look as she glances at his desk, “Uh oh." 

"Yeah, ’uh oh’." 

They stare at his ransacked desk for a few moments, before Zoro thinks to grab whatever spare pain meds he has lying around. Something tells him he’s going to need them.

“I don’t even know how to begin finding out who did this.” Zoro says, “We need to go check on a friend, but maybe you could look into the SMILE operation. I get the feeling we ruined their day a little.”

"Gladly. Be safe Zoro, and keep me posted." 

He scans her face for a second, the face he'd once thought was so similar to Kuina's that it pained him to look at, and nods. Someone out there knows exactly how to cut him to the core and he's never been more terrified in his life. 

 

* * *

 

Sanji blinks tiredly from underneath a black cloth. If he strains, he can just about make out the glow of a bare hanging bulb through the fabric. The room is cold, and damp too.

_Cold._

The plastic ties around his wrists are cutting off his circulation, making his hands tingle.

_Why is it cold?!_

His breath puffs out in clouds, reminding him of how badly he could use a cigarette.

He can hear the sounds of running water, feel it seeping over his feet and lapping at his ankles. The door opens with a rusty squeal of hinges and a clumsy hand rips the cloth from his head, tearing out a few strands of hair at the same time. Dull light makes his eyes suddenly contract after hours of being in darkness. The man that stands in front of him twists his mouth into a smirk, Sanji can see faint white scars criss-crossing his palms.

 _“You’re in so much trouble!”_ Ichiji says.

His fist knocks Sanji onto the floor, into the waist-deep pool of water and his scarred hands close around his throat.

“ _Tell me where he is, or I will cut your fucking fingers off, one by one!”_ _  
__“No-!” Sanji chokes out._

_“Maybe dad will finish the job and bury you next to mom!”_

The room fills with water until it closes over the hanging bulb. Ice cold water seeps into the open wounds on the stumps of his fingers, into his screaming mouth and down into his lungs. He floats in the centre of the darkening room, with muffled voices trying to reach him as he loses consciousness.

 

“ _He’s not breathing, get out of the WAY!”_

_“No… Stay awake! STAY AWAKE GODDAMNIT!”_   
  


Sanji wakes up with shaking hands and a pressure on his ribs like someone’s been sitting on his chest. For a few horrible moments he can still feel the choking-cold water in his throat.

“A-Ace?!” he calls out weakly, hoping to find someone - _anyone_ nearby he can talk to.

He shivers violently, the pile of blankets somehow shifted off his shoulders, and the back door is banging open and closed. An icy wind is blowing through and snow is melting on the carpet, no wonder he was having bad dreams.

In the dimly-lit room he’s alone. He pulls a blanket back around his shoulders and sits off the edge of the couch with his head hanging between his knees. No matter how much he tries to catch his breath, he can’t get enough oxygen. The struggle to get a satisfactory breath leaves him feeling lightheaded, and his eyes feel dry and swollen.

Eventually he lifts his head to look out the room, over towards the bar, where Ace is chatting obliviously with Franky. Sanji glares at them and looks around. The torn suit jacket he had been wearing is close by, as is the crumpled pack of cigarettes and the lighter in his pocket. They’ve been soaked through and left dog-ended, but they’re dry enough now.

He grabs Luffy's coat, and he slips it over his shoulders as he heads out the back door. 

 

When he gets outside, Sunny is crouched down taking a piss, with a ‘what are you staring at?’ sort of look on her furry face. Sanji sighs, “Guess you opened the door, huh? Thanks…”

He figures she must have discovered she can put her paws up on the push-bar to get out whenever she wants. She grumbles at him and wipes off her back paws, kicking up powder snow at him before she wanders back inside.

He lights a cigarette. The smoke causes his lungs to burn and spasm in protest, but he can’t think of anything else that will make him feel okay. The last time he had felt even within the reach of 'okay' had been when Ace had kissed him back at the clinic.

The choking heat in his lungs hurts like hell, but at least it's the kind of hurt he can somewhat control. Even if the subsequent coughing fit leaves him so dizzy he has to lean on the wall to stay upright. He spits onto the floor before taking another drag, and another until his chest is shaking and the smoke is burning him from the inside.

" _Sanji!"_

Through the black spots dotting his vision he sees Ace banging the door open and striding towards him. 

"Oh crap." Sanji chokes, not bothering to try and hide the evidence. 

“What the _fuck_ are you doing?” Ace stalks forward and snatches the cigarette out of his hand, "Were you even listening to the doctor back there, do I have to hogtie you so you stay put?!" 

" _Kinky_."

"I'm _serious_! What are you doing out here anyway? You're gonna catch your death!"

“I wanted some fresh air, leave me alone!”

Sanji dodges his attempt to wrap his hand around his shoulder and limps away.

Ace glares at him before stalking away a few feet. Instead of tossing the cigarette, he takes a drag from it.

Sanji watches Ace smoke longingly, "I know you don't smoke, asshole."

"Maybe I do, how do you know?” Ace snaps back, “I haven’t seen you in what, two years? A lot can change."

Sanji glares at him with his arms folded over his chest, but he soon realises he doesn’t have the energy to be angry.

"Ace, why'd you kiss me? Things are complicated enough as they are."

Ace takes a quick agitated breath, "If you walked into a room to find your ex having CPR performed on 'em, how would you react? I dont know what the fuck I was feeling then, and I sure as hell don’t now!" Ace gestures so wildly that the cigarette falls out his fingers, to lay still gently glowing on a pile of fresh snow. 

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Maybe you should figure out what you’re feeling, and stop pretending you care about me!” Sanji turns his back on him.

“Sanji I… I guess I wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”

He glances over over his shoulder, "You're… what?" 

"I should've talked things through with you before, but I got angry… If I could’ve done things differently, I would. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“I can’t deal with this right now. What are you even _doing_ here Ace?!”

"I asked Zoro if I could help find you. I've been wanting to get in touch with you for a while actually… Should've known you wouldn't pick up your phone." Ace sighs, then absently kicks snow over the cigarette, "I don't get it. If you were going to skip town, why didn't you just do it?" 

"I was stupid. I kept thinking about my dad and Luffy… And- and everyone. I could live a hundred lifetimes and not find friends as good as them. I ended up hesitating, like an idiot." 

A gust of wind kicks up and nearly knocks him off his feet, making him cough and shiver. His voice cracks when he says, "Ace… Everything hurts…" 

“I know, just…come back inside, please?”

 

When he’s back on the couch and warming himself again, he winces at the heat waking up the pain in his hand.

“I had a bad dream." Sanji blurts without thinking. “About, well... Take a guess.”

“You want me to stay with you for a while?”

Without thinking, he nods.

“I’m uh… gonna ask someone to get you some nicotine patches. So _please_ don’t try and smoke again.”

"Okay." 

Ace sits next to Sanji and puts an arm around him. He tries not to think about how badly he missed the smells of engine grease, and whatever vaguely cinnamon-scented bullshit Ace uses to wash his hair. Because he gets it, he _does_ , the only reason Ace kissed him was that he had been scared. Once Sanji gets better, he’ll remember exactly why he left him and that’ll be it.

Until then, maybe he’s not too proud to just lay back and enjoy it, just a little.

He sinks into Ace’s side and mutters, “Mother hen.”

“Shut the _fuck_ up...”

 

* * *

 

Usopp's gallery is brightly lit and open for business when they arrive. Usopp’s skillful paintings cover the walls, enormous Impressionist canvases in funky bright colours, in acrylics or oils… Zoro can’t really tell the difference. There’s cityscapes and a few exquisitely done portraits, probably of random people Usopp sketched in coffee shops.

The door jingles as they enter, and a knee-height creature that resembles a mop on legs pads up to Zoro, uttering a single sharp bark.

“Oh, hello.” Zoro says to the dog.

“Hi?” Usopp steps out from behind a canvas the width of a small car and wipes his hands on a rag covered with paint. His hair is tied back and shoved under a colourful stripy hat, and his long nose is also streaked with paint, “Jesus, Luffy! Were you trying to match with Zoro or something, what the hell happened?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it right now.” Luffy says, oddly quietly for him. 

Usopp gets a fine crease between his dark brows and looks at Zoro, “Not that I don’t appreciate you guys visiting but, I’m guessing you didn’t come here for a cup of coffee and a chat…”

“No. Uh, you might want to sit down for this, Usopp.” Zoro says.

They park themselves on the wooden stools around Usopp’s canvas, and the man’s mouth is hanging open by the time Zoro finishes explaining. 

“Sanji did all that? Oh my god… so he’s alright, right?”

“He’s… doing about as well as you’d expect I guess.” Zoro says. “And there’s another thing, my apartment got broken into and… Usopp I'm sorry, but they ruined the painting, the one you did of Little Tokyo."

"Oh that's… it's fine! I can paint you another one." Usopp says with a flippant wave. "It’s not like… I worked on it for three days straight…" Usopp's lower lip quivers and his dark eyes wobble with tears. 

"Oh, Usopp…”

He clings to Zoro and cries snottily into his shirt for a while. Zoro pats his curls awkwardly, before realising something, "Hey, why am I the one comforting _you?!_ It was _my_ painting!"

"My paintings are like children to me! I remember the day I gave birth…"

"Okay, please shut up now."

Zoro shoves him away and wipes his shirt off with Usopp’s paint rag, it smears his grey sweater with a rainbow streak of acrylics, but it’s better than boogers.  
“So you think I'm in danger too?! Why would they come after me? I mean you're talking torture… I can't handle pain..." Usppp frowns at Luffy, who's picking at a peeling bandage on his knee, "Seriously Luffy what _happened_ to you?"

"I jumped out a window." 

"Of… Of course you did." 

"They were trying to get at Sanji through people he knows," Zoro says, "wouldn't matter to them that you don't know jack-squat." 

"You'll come with us back to Franky House right?" Luffy says, "Ace has a gun if that makes you feel better." 

"It really doesn’t. Oh! Hang on, let me go and grab a few things." 

Usopp dashes up a set of wooden steps, and they hear a lot of crashing and what sounds like bowling balls being dropped from his apartment above the studio. 

He comes back with a bulging satchel hanging from his shoulder, plus a bandana and a pair of goggles strapped to his head. 

"Think I've got a few things that might come in handy." 

"Weapons?" Zoro says.

"In a matter of speaking. My dad was in the army did I ever tell you that? He used to take me to the range all the time." 

Zoro lifts an eyebrow, he never expected Usopp to be handy in a firefight. Usopp claps his hands and the little white dog leaps into his arms.

"Come on, Merry." 

 

* * *

  
  


Bell-mère farm looks picturesque with the snow dusting the tangerine trees and the roof of Nami and Vivi’s house. Or it would, if it weren’t for several of their trees being knocked over. The car responsible is still half-hidden under a fallen tree with its engine lightly steaming.

The four of them and Merry sprint up the gravel path towards the farmhouse. Luffy is annoyed when Zoro overtakes him, then Usopp and Merry, and even Robin in her high heeled boots. By the time they approach the farmhouse he's out of breath and hoping the others don't notice. He hastily swipes a trickle of blood away as it escapes from under a bandage wrapped around his knee. His knees shake and he resists the urge to grab onto one of his friends for support. 

 _Just need to eat, that’s all._ He tells himself, ... _How much blood did I lose, anyway?_

 

As they get closer, Luffy can see the shape of woman lying facedown in a snowdrift, next to a pile of firewood.

As Luffy flips her over, he can clearly see it's not Nami or Vivi, but a tall woman with a cloud of frizzy blue hair. She has a stream of blood pouring from her broken nose and she seems to be unconscious. 

"Ah, Miss Doublefinger. I believe she is from Baroque Works." Robin says. "I wouldn't worry too much about her." 

Luffy glances back down at the woman, before filing her away under ‘bad guy’ and drops her back into the snow. Luffy thuds on the front door of the farmhouse with his fist and the door immediately slams open, he yelps as someone drags him inside by the front of his shirt. 

"LUFFY! What have you _done_?!" Nami shouts in his face, her pink freckled face fills up most of his vision and she has a large rifle in her other hand.

“W-wait Nami, can you please put that down? We can explain!” Luffy stutters.

"Robin, Luffy, everyone!" Vivi cries and runs to hug each of them. Vivi is shaken and pale, but neither of them seem worse the wear physically.

"What happened, are you okay?" Zoro says.

“Yeah, we saw her coming a mile off," Nami says,"I had security cameras set up after a bunch of kids kept stealing our harvest.”

"So… you're not in danger?" Luffy says. 

"Nope." 

"Okay, good…" Luffy mutters. He’s been feeling lightheaded all day, and a wave of dizziness hits him so hard he almost collapses onto Nami’s throw-rug.

"Luffy-!" Zoro lunges forward and grabs him by the back of his jacket, just in time to stop him busting his nose open on the hardwood floor.

"Nami you… You got any food?" Luffy mumbles. 

"God, you are a walking disaster, aren't you? Go sit down." Nami says, she points them to the kitchen table and Vivi starts making them some tea.

Nami pulls a tray out of the oven and something black and vaguely poultry shaped is sitting on it, "I was cooking lunch before that weirdo showed up."

She dumps the tray in front of Luffy and Zoro with a bang, “It _was_ duck l'orange but now it's burnt _and_ cold." 

The two of them stare down the bird like a couple of starved wolves. It could have been a squashed possum for all Luffy cares, to him it’s the equivalent of a three-course Christmas dinner. He and Zoro tear into it with their bare hands, Luffy has the legs and wings pulled off in seconds and they’re soon crunching through the burnt crust of sauce to get at the meat underneath. Zoro somehow manages to explain what happened to Sanji, while he fights Luffy for a few scraps of burnt meat. 

"He's safe now, but in bad shape.” Zoro says with his mouth full, “He said the guy who hurt him mentioned your farm and knew your name."

"So, this is all his fault?" Nami says darkly.

"Kinda, yeah." 

Luffy tosses a leg bone at his head and growls. 

"Okay fine! It's not just his fault… it's mine too." 

"It doesn't matter whose _fault_ it is!" Vivi cuts in "What should we do now? If they know how to find us here…" 

Zoro sucks the last shred of meat from a thigh bone and relinquishes the rest of the duck carcass for Luffy to gnaw at. He would kiss the man if he weren’t shoving meat into his face with both hands at once. Usopp stares at him in disgust as he pops the ribcage open, flicking him with pieces of its insides. Robin smiles and sips her tea from Usopp’s other side.

"You should probably come with us back to Franky house, it might not be much safer, but at least we'll all be together." Luffy says.

"What makes you think we'll be safer with you numbnuts?!" Nami says.

"We uh, have a big dog?" Zoro offers.

"And Ace, he has a shotgun!” Luffy continues, “Oh, speaking of guns… You might want to bring that rifle with you." 

Nami gives Zoro a flat look, "I knew you were going to be a troublemaker when Luffy had to carry your ass out of the club that night." 

"Yep he's a troublemaker alright," Luffy says with a grin, "and so is everyone else in my família!" 

The group falls silent, with only Luffy slurping his tea noisily and Robin’s spoon clinking gently against her cup.

“So, what are we going to do about…” Usopp starts.  
“...The unconscious person outside?”

Everyone stares at the door, Robin sips her tea in thought, while Usopp scratches his nose.

“Put her in the trunk.” Robin says.

  
  


* * *

 

When Merry leads the way back into Franky House, the hulking Sunny immediately runs over to greet her like an old friend. The huge dog sticks her rump in the air and the two dogs gallop off to chase each other around outside. Franky raises an eyebrow when Robin walks in with Miss Doublefinger slung over her shoulder.

“Just uh… put her in the back room. Does she need a doctor or…” Franky says.

Robin shrugs with a smile, “I’ll take care of it sweetie. I have a few choice words for her when she wakes up.”

Luffy darts back into the lounge, nearly tripping over the same piece of rucked-up carpet he fell over on his way out.

"Welcome back." Ace says, from where he’s sprawled comfortably on the couch, one of Franky's engineering books in his hand and a blanket slung over his waist. Luffy frowns, the couch is where they left Sanji, but he's nowhere to be seen. 

"Uh… Where's Sanji?" 

Ace sighs deeply and flips back the covers, where Sanji is squashed between his body and the back of the couch. His dark head is barely visible under Ace’s arm, he seems to be asleep before he squints at them and blinks tiredly. 

"You've been getting along okay then?" 

"Nope, he's been a royal pain in my ass." 

Sanji’s hand sneaks out from under the covers to flip him off. 

"Y'all are okay then?" 

"Oh my god he's even more southern than I remember…" Usopp mutters under his breath, then more loudly, "We're fine Ace, but we got the impression you guys aren't." 

"I know things are rough when it's been a whole minute and Sanji hasn't tried to hit on me." Nami says, then cracks a grin, "Or is that just because Ace is here?" 

"Nope," Ace says, "he was all over Robin the moment he stumbled in here." 

"Please stop persecuting me… All of you." Sanji says weakly. 

"Why would we ever stop doing that?" Nami says, rapping her knuckles against the side of his head. Ace gives her a meaningful look, possibly to tell her to dial it back. 

"So Ace, haven't seen you much since, well…" 

"I mean yeah, I didn't want to be the one to make things awkward for y'all. Thought I should make myself scarce…" Ace tosses down the book and shrugs, "It's fine though. I got my own friends. I'm not dyin' of a lonely heart or anything." 

"We've missed you though." 

"That's sweet of you to say so, happy to see y’all again too." 

Sanji sits up in stages, frowning as everyone turns to stare at him. "Will you all stop looking at me like that, I know it’s bad…”

"No, we're just looking at your hair, you look like you could front a 90’s grunge band." Nami says.

“Yes, and we’ve never seen both your eyebrows at once!” Vivi says.

"I hate you all."

"Hey, we're just joking dude, we're glad you're okay." Usopp says.

Luffy smiles as Usopp smooshes Sanji into a hug. Vivi kisses his forehead and she and Nami take turns cuddling him and mussing up his hair (to Sanji’s delight). Having all his friends nearby puts Luffy at ease, but there's still a knot in his stomach that won't go away. 

Zoro catches onto it immediately and Luffy pouts when he notices him staring, that steely grey eye fixed on him like he's trying to read Luffy's mind. Sometimes he wonders if Zoro actually can.

 _Hey Zoro, if you can read my mind, tell me what I'm thinking right now._ Luffy thinks, _It's a number between fourteen and fifty-two._

It doesn't work, but Zoro's frown deepens, "What's wrong?" 

"Psh, I thought I was the one doing all the worrying in this relationship." Luffy waves him off and limps off to the bar, still starving and hunting around for Franky's stock of bar snacks. He leans over the bar on his stomach and rummages around underneath. 

"Luffy I'm serious, I need to know you're okay." 

Luffy shoves a few packets into his pockets and sits on the bar to rip a pack of peanuts open, his hands are so stiff and bruised that he spills half of them across the floor. He empties the rest into his mouth and crunches them down without tasting any of it. 

"Do you think that red suit guy is dead?" Luffy says, pretending to hunt around in the packet for any peanuts he might've missed to avoid looking Zoro in the eye. The question seems to take Zoro aback a bit. 

"I pushed him out a _window_. He's gotta be dead, right?"

"Even if he is, you were just protecting us. You did the right thing."

"I don’t know if I believe that, when you called me a hero I…”

Zoro stays silent and waits patiently for him to continue. 

“At my boxing or capoeira classes they always tell me my body is a weapon and I have to be real careful I don’t kill anyone when I fight. But sometimes I get so angry I lose control… I couldn’t stop hitting that guy. I was… Scared, scared of what might've happened if I still had that gun."

"You didn't fire it once." Zoro says. 

"...No." 

"I'm sorry… That was too much for me to ask of you at such short notice."

Zoro puts his hand over the back of Luffy’s neck and gently pulls him close. He's grateful for the touch, until he remembers something, and the gut twisting feeling comes back, “Have you killed anyone before, Zoro?”

“Um, yeah, I have."  
Luffy looks away with his heart thumping unpleasantly in his throat. It wasn't the answer he was wanting to hear, obviously. 

“He was from Baroque Works," Zoro continues, "He wanted me to join with them and leak confidential police files to them, said he was going to kill me. I guess they thought I was a soft target, I'd only just been issued my badge and gun. He was the first, and the only person I’ve killed. I don’t regret it.”

“You were protecting yourself.”  
“Yeah… Does that make you feel different about me?”

“I don’t know. I don’t want to feel like this. I was so angry - I _wanted_ him to be dead, but this is too- It's… Heavy. "

Zoro nods slowly, "It’s a lot to have hanging over you, it took me some time to make my peace with it.”

"Are you gonna kill Mihawk when you find him? He's powerful, even if you arrest him and send him to jail… He could still get bailed out and come after us again. What if he won't let you arrest him, and you _have_ to kill him?!" 

Zoro looks so troubled that Luffy's about three seconds from making some sort of stumbling backtracking apology for saying it, he bites his lip hard as he waits for Zoro’s response.

"I'm going to do everything I can to bring him down the right way, anything else is up to luck I guess." 

Luffy laughs slightly, "Luck…" 

"Will you think differently of me, if I do kill him?" 

"...I dunno. I think you're gonna try to do the right thing, and that's what's important. I just don't want you to do anything you might regret." 

"You sure were enthusiastic about killing them all at one point." 

"I don't actually want them dead, dummy! I want them to pay for what they've done. They can live, and learn to regret every shitty thing they've done to us." 

"No quarter given, huh?" 

"What, you thought I was gonna forgive them? _Fuck_ no!" 

Zoro smiles and leans up to kiss him, Luffy chuckles as he feels the tip of his tongue sneaking out to lick a patch of salt from Luffy's  lower lip.

“God, I’m starving…” Zoro mutters. Luffy gives him one of his packs of peanuts and hugs him, with his legs wrapping around his waist and his chin resting on his shoulder.

“Remember to eat, Zoro.”

 

* * *

 

Back in the lounge, Zoro watches the dogs play-wrestle on the floor, with Merry rolling Sunny on her back and keeping the huge dog at her mercy. He’s seriously considering a nap when he feels black eyes stabbing him in the side of his head, and turns to find the shithead cook staring at him. 

“So… you didn’t beef it on the docks.” 

Zoro stares grumpily back at him, “I’m sure you would’ve loved that, but no.”  
Sanji rolls his eyes tiredly. “Haven’t you figured it out yet?”

“Figured _what_ out?”  
“I was there, you moron.”

Zoro stares at him blankly, with his eye widening. The familiar disconnected feeling building as he remembers staring at a cloudy sky in a pool of his own blood.

Sanji stretches out with a slight wince as he continues, “While you were busy getting turned into Swiss cheese, I hid in the parking garage… then followed their car to the docks. I called the emergency services so they’d find you, then went and chased down Gin. No need to thank me.”

Zoro actually kind of does want to thank him, there's a chance he could have bled out by the time Tashigi found him, but there’s no way he'd admit it. 

“Wasn’t gonna.” he says with a grumpy pout. The thought that he watched _that_ happen is a bitter enough pill to swallow without him being smug about it too.

He turns to find Luffy staring at the man, who’s been so quiet and still Zoro didn’t even hear him enter the room.

"Sanji you... you saved Zoro?"

"I mean… yeah? I wasn't just gonna leave him to die… I'm not a monster." 

Luffy grabs Sanji's face and covers it with kisses mumbling 'thank you, thank you!' over and over.

"Hey… knock it off." Sanji gasps, shoving Luffy’s face away with his palm, "You tryin' to kill me?"

Luffy giggles and plonks himself down cross-legged on the floor next to Sanji, “How come you two know each other anyway?” he says, jabbing a thumb at Zoro.

" _Usopp_ brought him over to my bar, to start off.” Sanji says, locking eyes with Usopp as he brings Sanji a cup of tea.

"Okay… So it wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had." Usopp says guiltily.

"So what did he do to piss you off? Apart from existing I mean." Luffy says.

“He asked for _soy sauce_!” Sanji growls, “He said the food was dry.”

“It WAS dry!" Zoro snaps, “You can’t complain about someone wanting sauce when your food fucking sucks!”

“I was in a bad mood because-" Sanji pauses to make a small, pained noise, "Ace had just broken up with me... I was having an off day!" 

Luffy bursts out in a fit of belly-laughs, “Sanji, you jerk! What did Usopp do when you started fighting?”

“I _ran_!” Usopp says, “What else was I supposed to do when Sanji’s in one of his moods? The minute dinner plates started flying I checked the hell out."

"You're such a good friend, Usopp." Zoro says dryly. 

“I _am_ a good friend! Jeez, you try to hook up a couple of guys and where does it get you?”

“Hook-up, huh?” Luffy says, “So Zoro and Sanji could’ve ended up dating before I even met him!”  
“NO!”

“ _FUCK_ NO!” Sanji and Zoro roar in unison. 

“Were you even paying attention?!” Sanji snaps. 

Luffy cackles and gets up, just to slump back down into a very blushing Zoro’s lap.

"Even if you were dating Zoro, I'd have to steal him from you. He’s too fucking pretty.”

“God you have _weird_ taste in men…” Sanji grumbles.

 

* * *

 

Throughout the rest of the evening, the group of friends take it in turns bringing Sanji drinks, while Franky and Robin try to scrape together enough food for them all. At some point Ace wandered off by himself to nurse a glass of whiskey alone in a booth, and Luffy slumps down to join him, “Ace, you should come and hang out with us!” Luffy says, throwing a bag of peanuts at his head. 

“No, I'm fine. I don’t want to intrude on you guys and make shit awkward..." Ace says, snatching the bag out of the air and ripping it open.

“Did something happen with Sanji while we were out? I thought you guys were getting along okay.”

“I think we’re still a ways off from being _okay._ ” Ace stares into his glass and swirls the liquid around, "Hey Loof... When you and Zoro had that fight, how did you make up?" 

"Well, I guess I just told him the truth. Then I cried for a bit, which I think made him feel bad, then we kissed and it was okay!" 

"Right but… This is _Sanji_ we're talking about."

"Good point… Are you gonna try and get back together with him?!" 

"No! I don't know. Yeah? Maybe..." 

"You just gave every possible answer to that question. You already admitted you still like him.” Luffy kicks at his shins under the table, “C’mon, tell me!”

“I don’t know! The whole reason I broke up with him was that he was self-destructive and acted like an idiot, and _now_ look at where we are...”

“Ace, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but…” Luffy takes his brothers hand, and looks deep into his eyes, “You’re an idiot too.”

Ace narrows his eyes, and Luffy’s slightly relieved he’s covered in too many bandages for Ace to think about thumping him.

"I mean… you got into that fight cause you think he doesn't take care of himself. And yet I've seen you chug a bottle of Peri-Peri sauce in one go, you bought a fucking _lynx_ at the black market and kept it at your shop!”

"How dare you bring Kotatsu into this." 

"My _point is_ , you worry… a lot. And yet you don't even take care of yourself. You and Sanji are _way_ similar like that. Until you two can figure things out… maybe just be there for him. I think he needs you, he needs all of us."

Ace sighs, then flicks him on the forehead so hard it feels like he hit him with an air rifle

"Hey!” Luffy yowls at him, clutching the sore spot and rubbing away the sting.

"What bizarro universe have we fallen into where you're giving _me_ relationship advice?"

“Just because I've been in a relationship for like, a week doesn't mean I'm not great at them! Watch.”

Luffy turns his head and bellows towards the other room, “HEY ZORO, I LOVE YOU!”

After a second or two they hear a faint, “LOVE YOU TOO LUFFY!”

“What’s that supposed to prove?”

“Uh, that we're _awesome_ and we're the best couple? _Duh_."

"Right, and you're going to get married, then you're going to get divorced in a few weeks because Zoro ate the last chicken wing at your wedding reception or something." 

"Don't be ridiculous. Zoro would never eat the last chicken wing without asking me." 

He freezes and feels all the hairs on his neck stand on end when he hears Franky yelling over from the bar, “LUFFY! WHAT THE _FUCK_ HAPPENED TO ALL THE CHICHARRONES!”  
“Oh crap, gotta go!”

 

* * *

 

Zoro rests with his head on Luffy's lap and sighs as his hands comb slowly through his hair. He could fall asleep like this, easily. But instead of closing his eye, he keeps unfolding the note Tashigi found at his apartment.

_anniversary._

He dreads this time of year. He usually spends the day alone, with a bottle of sake (or more like several bottles) and spends some quiet time just remembering. He stares at the handwriting, wishing he could magically find out who wrote it just by staring at it long enough. 

 

He glances up as the kitchen door by the bar swings open and Robin comes out. Sanji is thrown over her shoulder, the way you might with a toddler who sat down in the middle of the street and refused to walk.

“No ‘buts’.” she says.

“...If I could just show you one thing; you don’t _need_ to throw away the potato peels…”

“Sanji, lie down.”

“Please? At least let me-”

“ _No.”_ Robin emphatically puts him back down on the couch and tucks the blankets around him tightly, “Franky and I know how to cook dinner."

"Mrs. Nico please… I am _so_ bored."

"I think Sunny could use a brush, if you're _that_ bored." 

She drops a wire dog brush onto his lap and walks off. Sunny pants in his face and grins hopefully, while he stares back at her like he’s thinking about having her salted and roasted.

 

Zoro smirks at him a little, before leaning back up into Luffy's touch. 

"Hey, Luffy… I have to go somewhere."

Luffy shifts his legs a little and stares down at him with his eyebrows quirked. 

"You want to leave again?! But we're all together now." 

"I need to find out who took my sword, and I can't have official police files in some criminal's hands somewhere." 

"That sword, it's really important to you, huh?" 

"I don't have much left, apart from you I mean… Whoever destroyed my apartment made sure of that." 

He rests his cheek on Luffy's thigh, trying to hide the miserable look on his face, but Luffy cups his face and lifts up his chin to look at him, "It's your treasure." 

"Yeah…" 

"I'll help you get it back, Zoro. Don't worry. Where are we going?” Luffy says.

“Up to Whiskey Peak, the cemetery. There's something I need to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this exciting installation of Boys and Ladies having Conversations. Maybe next time there will be more Conversations, and no one will be stabbed. And DEFINITELY nothing will explode and NO ONE will be hurt or FEEL sad ever!  
> I possibly only have a couple more chapters of this in me so, be very afraid folks, it is ALL downhill from here!  
> Okay but seriously, I've been looking to up my writing game lately so some feedback/CC would be appreciated!! If you're still enjoying the story please let me know also!!!


	8. Survivor's Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoro, Luffy and Tashigi head out to hunt down Zoro’s missing treasure, but someone out there is playing a dangerous game with them.  
> Franky House goes into lock-down, and Ace prepares for the worst.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GRAPHIC violence in this one. Seriously, I know this fic has been pretty bloody already, but if gore upsets you, this is your only warning. Yet another warning for minor character death(s) also.  
> I'm gonna stay quiet from here on out since you’re probably all tired of my dumbass author’s notes and this... is the beginning of the end. Nothing I do ever goes to plan, but there could be two more chapters after this or even just one. We'll see. Happy holidays everyone, I will see you in the new year.
> 
> Also shoutout to EclecticIsMyMiddleName for beta reading, check her stuff out, it's ass. slappage.

Check out the playlist [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6cZ9scZNPphwQyVY7i0YyI?si=NHjsVNafS5KSAB-c8AfGRQ) and please enjoy.

 

 

**_3 years ago_ **

 

_"A serial killer?" Zoro said, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end._

_"Did I stutter, Roronoa?" Smoker barked at him._

_The rest of the precinct turned their attention away from Smoker at the front of the meeting room, all looking irritated at Zoro’s interruption, but he was too buzzing with excitement to care. A sick little smile wanted to creep onto his face._

_"He's killed over ten people in short bursts over the past four months," Smoker continued, "All were found badly mutilated with some kind of bladed weapon. That defines him as a serial killer."_

_"Isn't that more of a spree killing, I mean-"_

_Smoker whacked his jutte on the table in front of him, "People have died, Roronoa, and if you don’t want to join them, shut up!"_

_Smoker vaguely waved his jutte at the board next to him, various pieces of photo evidence and grisly imagery stuck to it._

_"Now, we're dealing with a dangerous predator here. I'm going to need all of you to stay on your toes. It’s going to take all of us working together to bring this guy down. Don't go out alone. That's all."_

 

_Smoker blocked Zoro’s way out of the room before he had the chance to file out with the rest of the precinct._

_"You're staying out of this one, Roronoa."_

_"Excuse me?! Didn't you just say we're all going to need to work together?"_

_"Yeah, exactly. 'Work together'. Tashigi tells me whenever she asks you for help on a callout, you conveniently have something better to do. We’re called 'the police force'. Not 'Roronoa Zoro and whoever he deigns important enough to work with him.'"_

_He opened his mouth angrily, but Smoker interrupted him by prodding him in the collarbone with his jutte._

_"Trust. Tashigi. She could save your life someday. Don't expect me to let you go off playing Sheriff of the All Blue when you're so green you're pissing grass!"_

_Zoro watched him walk away with his eyebrows folded down and his lip curled in disgust._

_"Pissing grass, huh?" he muttered under his breath._

 

_The look on Smoker's face when he had shown up for work the next day with freshly dyed, minty-green hair had put him in a good mood the likes of which he hadn't known for years._

 

_"Nice hair, bro." Johnny said, as Zoro parked himself at a table for lunch._

_"You like it?" Zoro stroked a hand through his spiky hair smugly, "Smoker was just telling me how much he loves my sense of style."_

_The gold earrings he wore jingled as he got to work tearing into a sandwich, the same ones Smoker always bellowed at him from across the hall to take out._

_"You gotta be careful bro. I know Smoker's a prickly dude, but you're walking a fine line." Johnny said._

_"Yeah, having a partner is kind of a requirement of bein' a cop yanno?" Yosaku added._

_"Easy for you two to say," Zoro grumbled over a bite of sandwich, "you two actually_ like _each other. What do I even need a partner for, really?”_ _  
__Johnny snorted, “So if one of you gets brained by a meth-head, your partner can call for backup before you lose consciousness or bleed out. It’s standard procedure, man.”_

_“Tashigi is a total klutz! I’d be safer with the meth-head.”_

_Yosaku snorted next, the two men weirdly in synch from spending so much time around each other. "You’re a sexist, Zoro.”_

_“Just earlier today I saw her drop an important piece of evidence for a case right into Smoker’s soup! What use is she going to be if there’s a firefight?”_

_“Why not just give her a chance?” Johnny said, “Smoker picked her to be your partner for a reason.”_

_“Yeah, and the reason is that he hates my guts.”_

_He decided he’d rather be called a sexist than tell them the real reason Tashigi made him uncomfortable. If he said 'she looks like my sister who died, so much that they could be twins.' everyone would look at him like he were crazy._

 

_Zoro cringed as Tashigi all but tackled him on his way back to the office, despite his attempt to sneak into the break room before she saw him._

_"You heard about the killer, right? I have some files I think might be relevant, could you come look at them with me?" she said._

_Zoro groaned, "He could be out there killing more people, right now. We'd just be wasting time…"_

_He walked off, thinking about heading to the garage to grab his bike, when she chased him down the hall._

_"So... what’s your plan, ‘search around aimlessly and wait for trouble’? I know you don't like me, and you don't trust me, but I'm just as capable as you or anyone else here!"_

_"That's- that's not it!"_

_"I am having NONE of these stupid office gender politics; I hoped my partner would be able to do the same!"_

_"It's not about your gender dammit!"_

_"Then what is it, will you please just talk to me? We can figure something out-"_

_He clenched his jaw and dodged around her. "I… I have to go…"_

_"Roronoa!"_

 

_It turned out that he didn’t have to wait long for trouble. Only a couple of nights later, he was patrolling alone on his bike when the police radio reported gunshots at Sabaody Park, a amusement park on the beach, and a man who was carrying a large sword._

_"Officer Roronoa here, heading there now."_

_The voice on the other end of the radio squawked something about waiting for backup, but he was already gunning the engine on his bike and starting up his sirens. He would bring this guy down alone if he had to._

 

_The fair at the end of the pier was deserted, the only sounds the looping jingles from the empty rides. He drew his gun and jogged down the wooden planks, every single one of his nerves on edge. He breathed out through his teeth in irritation as the colorful lights and sounds drowned out his senses, every bright flicker made him whirl around and stare._

 

_Then he heard it; the faint sounds of a man begging for his life._

 

 _"Please Boss… I didn't know what they_ _were cutting it with… I skimped on the production costs but- but I didn't think it would lead to the production plant being discovered!"_

_"You've drawn too much attention to the SMILE operation already. Your stupidity is laughable. Or it would be, if you hadn't cost me time and money covering up for you."_

_"Please, no please DON'T-!"_

_Zoro flinched at the sounds of steel sinking into flesh, and the wet choke of a dying man. He peered out from around the carousel ride just in time to see a man in a white coat slumping forward with a hole in his middle._

_Zoro reached for his radio and swallowed thickly, "Code 187, male stabbed at Sabaody fair on the pier, suspect is-”_

_He hurriedly shut off his radio as the killer turned to look his way. Something about the man's eyes rooted him to the spot._

_Somehow he managed to collect himself, to come out from behind the carousel and aim his gun at the man._

_“Drop your weapon, hands behind your head!”_

_The man with the piercing eyes just stood there with a small smile curving at his lips. His eyes ever so subtly flicked over to Zoro’s side. Before he could turn to see what the man was looking at, something slammed into him and knocked him sprawling, his gun clattered away over the wooden boards_

_One of the most hideous men Zoro had ever seen loomed over him, a pasty white face with hooded eyes, with a skinny neck and a round body that made him resemble some kind of giant turnip. Despite his bizarrely unbalanced appearance, he was huge and had the drop on Zoro._

_Something collided with the side of his head, and everything went black for a while._

 

_Through the fog of unconsciousness, he felt hands roughly pulling off his kevlar vest, and a high-pitched voice scratched at his ears, "Kishishishi! They must not be taking you seriously, Hawky, only sending one after you. It's a little insulting, isn't it?"_

_"Yes, thank you Shadow Man. Leave him to me, go and take care of the body."_

_Zoro’s vision cleared to find himself with his back to the end of the pier, only a wooden handrail separating him from a two story drop into a thrashing black sea, and a dead body next to him. The turnip guy smirked at Zoro as he grabbed the body by the ankles and dragged it away, leaving no trace of him but a trail of blood._

_Zoro groaned as he tried to get up, fighting off waves of dizziness and swiping clumsily at the blood trickling into his eyes._

_“Where's your partner, kid?"_

_"She’s… she’s on her way.” Zoro muttered._

_The hawk-eyed man chuckled darkly, "I'm sure she is."_

_Zoro swallowed thickly. Even then he didn't want to admit to himself that maybe he had made a mistake._

_“You cops, you get stupider every year…” the man said, pulling a tiny knife from a cross-shaped pendant around his neck. The blade caught the lights of the ferris wheel as he studied it. “...almost makes this too easy; like hunting rabbits.”_

_Hawk-eyes put his boot to Zoro’s neck and shoved him up against the wooden barrier that marked the edge of the pier. “Aren’t you afraid?”_

_“No, why should I be?”_

_Hawk-eyes leaned down slightly to look into his eyes, “Oh... you’re really not, are you? Why is that, I wonder?”_

_“None of your business.” Zoro said, his heart started to hammer as Hawk-eyes placed the tip of the blade over it._

_Hawk-eyes took the blade away, only to pull his arm back and shunt the blade between Zoro's ribs, right over his wildly beating heart._

_"What about now? Are you afraid?"_

_Zoro struggled to find an answer, with the knife blade inches away from piercing his heart, and a stain of blood blooming slowly on his shirt. Fear never seemed to register, just annoyance that this bastard had gotten the drop on him, and now he was going to die in a colossally stupid way._

_“That… was my best shirt, dammit.” Zoro muttered._

_Hawk-eyes smiled with one side of his mouth before letting out a laugh, "I think I rather like you. Tell me your name."_

_"Roronoa Zoro."_

_He thought he might have imagined the way Mihawk's smile faltered slightly, and his golden eyes widened with interest._

_"What an… unusual name."_

_"If you're going to kill me, just get on with it." Zoro growled tiredly. He was starting to feel weak and dizzy._

 

_Hawk-eyes clicked the blade back into its sheath, then he unsheathed the black blade at his hip, still glistening wetly with blood from its last victim._

_“Stand up.”_

 

_Zoro rose trembling to his feet, clutching at the hole in his chest, then stuck out his arms as if to say 'here, come and get me.'_

 

_The blade sliced through the air and cold metal sliced over his clavicle, screamed down the soft flesh of his stomach like cold fire, and hit his hip bone with a thud that reverberated through his whole body. For a moment he could only gasp and clutch at his stomach, so much blood… he was worried that his guts would spill out over the pier._

_Then he realised he was losing his footing._

_"Don't be in such a rush to die, Roronoa Zoro."_

_Mihawk sheathed his blade and was already turning away when Zoro fell off the pier._

 

_He hit the sea like it were made out of cold, black concrete._

 

_The next thing he remembered was lying half frozen and covered with seaweed on the beach, having somehow managed to drag himself to shore. How he had done it, he didn't even remember. What he did remember was Smoker's words rattling around in his tired, dying brain, over and over;_

_"Trust. Tashigi. She could save your life someday."_

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


“Hey, Zoro, you still with me?" 

Zoro glances over and shrugs absently as he rummages around in his pocket. He takes out a bottle of pills and dry-swallows some of his pain medication. 

Luffy frowns and pokes him, "Digestion slowing down your brain or something?" 

That at least gets a sort-of smile out of him, but he stays silent and stares off into a corner of the quiet, snowy yard. his hand reaches up and rubs at his shoulder like he's in pain. He's wearing his leather coat again, the only thing he'd managed to salvage from his trashed apartment. It suits him, and it means Luffy gets to keep the oversized green coat Zoro gave him. 

"Just…" Zoro says, after such a long pause it makes Luffy jump, "Wonder if we should tell them."

Luffy scoffs, "If I tell Ace we're leaving, he'll never let us."

He keeps staring at Zoro as he goes quiet again, at his blind side so hopefully he won't notice the staring. Because Zoro has given him more or less everything already, but there's a part of him that he's keeping locked away for whatever reason. And it bothers the shit out of Luffy. Not because he's desperately nosy, quite the opposite in fact. It just bothers him because it makes him distant and unreachable, like it's something he feels he can't tell Luffy, even though they promised each other no more secrets. 

He probably wouldn't be able to put all of this into words even if he were the scholarly type like Robin. So he leans up and kisses Zoro, rubs his face a little against the scruff on his chin. Then he kisses him harder, like maybe his thoughts will transfer through his lips and straight to Zoro's brain, so he won't have to say a word. 

 

They pull apart as the front door bangs open and Zambai strolls out. He blinks at them as Luffy not-so-casually shoves his hands in his pockets. 

"Oh, hey fellas! You uh, going somewhere?" 

"No!" Luffy blurts out far too quickly to be believable, as Zambai narrows his eyes doubtfully. 

"I’m pretty sure your big bro doesn't want you guys leaving. He just sent me out to grab something for Sanji, then we're lockin' the gates."

"No, I was just…" Zoro says, his eye flicking around the yard. "...going to show Luffy how to play Kendo."

"Oh. Alright well... don't stay out too long now!" 

Zambai walks off, and Luffy waits until he's out of earshot before chuckling, "Kendo?"

"It's a martial art I used to do. We might as well do _something_ before Tashigi gets here anyway." 

Zoro starts hunting around the scrapyard for something, picking up old bits of metal before dropping them.

"Martial arts, huh? Like taekwondo?” Luffy lifts his leg over his head in an axe-kick so high he can put his foot on Zoro’s shoulder.

"Not quite,” Zoro says, brushing his foot away, “You use a bamboo sword to hit certain points on your opponent's body." 

“So… swordfighting?”

“It’s not just ‘swordfighting’! It’s a contest of speed and accuracy, and discipline too. The referees will dock you points if you don’t follow the rules.” 

Luffy blinks at him. The speed and accuracy parts sound cool, though he’s not so sure about the ‘discipline’ part.

“C’mon, I’ll show you.”

Zoro picks up a broomstick handle from Franky’s junkpile, and a pole, probably from an old clothes rack, which he hands to Luffy. “The object isn’t to hit someone as hard as you can. You get a point if you tap the wrist, the chest or the front of the throat. You have to be quick because your opponent is going to be guarding those spots and moving fast.”

“How can you tell who’s won?”

“Normally there are referees circling the opponents, since strikes can come so fast. They would also dock you points for not showing your fighting spirit with a cry, or ‘unseemly’ behaviour like fist-pumping or cheering.”

Luffy heaves out a long groan and his shoulders slump, “This is too complicated!”  
“That’s what makes it interesting!” Zoro says with a grin. He draws two lines in the snow with his broomstick handle, with an ‘x’ between them to mark the centre of a small ring.

“First we bow, then kneel in front of each other.”

Luffy imitates him by giving a short, straight-backed bow and crouching in the snow with his pipe held in both of his hands, “And _then_ we fight?”

“Yeah, come on!”

Luffy leaps up with a grin and flails his pole around. What Zoro had said sounded so easy, but every time he triumphantly swings his stick down onto one of the points, Zoro darts away, springing lightly backwards before lunging forward again. Even with his arm broken, Zoro is constantly in control of the fight, stopping Luffy’s attempts at a strike with a series of clacks that rattle around the yard.

Luffy is starting to sweat when he finally manages to prod Zoro in the collarbone with the end of his pipe.

"Hah!” Luffy barks out, “I won!" 

"No, that's not the right spot, but this is-" Zoro lightly taps the top of his head with his broom handle and Luffy gives him a grumpy pout.

"Come on, again!" 

Zoro is a different person with a sword, or stick sword in his hand; composed and focused and quick as a snake. He taps every single one of the spots without giving Luffy a chance to hit back, then cracks him across the ass with it for good measure. Luffy yelps in pain and rubs his asscheek to take off the sting, "Hey, that doesn't count! You lose a point for being 'unseemly'!" 

Zoro chuckles, "You're right, it was worth it though." 

The corner of Zoro’s mouth curves in a smirk with his white teeth flashing, and Luffy feels warm all over. He's never seen Zoro so cocky and confident, it makes him feel oddly proud. 

 

Zoro’s pocket buzzes and he drops his broomstick to check his phone.  
“Shigs is here. You ready to go?”

“Yep!”

He pauses to grab a baseball bat he left lying against the side of Franky House. 

Zoro lifts an eyebrow, "You gonna hit some home runs tonight?" 

"If Mihawk comes near you again, I'm gonna knock his fucking head off." 

"God… I love you." 

They head out the junkyard gates, and find Tashigi waiting with her car, wrapped in a puffy jacket with a furry hood around her head. 

"Ah, Shigs!" Luffy calls over with a wave. 

"Please don't call me that," Tashigi says with a pained smile, "only Zoro gets to call me 'Shigs'... And I'm still not sure why even _he_ calls me that…"

Zoro shrugs, "It just sounds funny." 

"What about if I call you… Shigsy?" Luffy carries on as they walk to the car.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't." 

 

* * *

 

Ace yawns widely, the warmth of the fireplace is making him drowsy, as well as the hot meal Robin made for them, and the whiskey he drank for want of something better to do. 

Technically there's no current reason for him to be antsy, Sanji is asleep on the couch, Nami and Vivi are busying themselves with a card game (using Sanji as a table). Usopp is doing… something on the floor, surrounded by various bits and pieces he keeps pulling out his bag. There’s no reason to be nervous, at least not now. Somehow the act of sitting around stewing in his own thoughts makes him more nervous than if he were actually in the middle of some kind of danger.

Ace gets up with a sigh and wanders over to Usopp, watching him squint down a loupe lens and pour a tiny amount of black powder into an empty casing of some sort. The weapon resting on the ground isn’t like anything he’s seen before; a horseshoe kind of shape on top of a long, black handle.

"Is that a freaking slingshot?" Ace says.

"Do not underestimate the slingshot." Usopp snaps the empty ammo pocket at him for emphasis with a rubbery 'thwack'.

"You'd be better off with a rifle.”

"This is what I'm used to! Besides, I never liked guns.” 

Ace scoffs, "If you say so buddy. I'd take a gun any day." 

"Hey! I bet I could hit more targets using my slingshot than you could with that nasty old shotgun!" 

"Them's fightin' words. You're on." 

Usopp cackles and lifts a sardonic brow his way, " _Them's fightin' words,_ seriously?" 

"I meant it in an ironic way." Ace says, blushing.

"Sure you did." Usopp shoots him a pair of finger guns with a wink. 

Ace turns away with an eye roll, and a passing thought of _Damn, chalk one up for Usopp…_

He catches Franky coming out from the yard, wearing an old bomber jacket and Sunny close on his heels.

"Yo, Franky, can I talk to you for a minute?" 

"Sure kiddo, what's up?" 

"I just wanna know… If anyone tries to get in… what kind of defenses we got here?" 

"Well, the front gates are damn sturdy, nothin's gonna break those down save maybe a bigass truck or a runaway train. There's a proximity alarm in case anyone gets past the gate by some miracle. And of course an early warning system called Sunny." he pats the huge dog’s head and she ‘boofs’ up at them happily.

"Right… and if anyone does get past the gate?" 

"...Get some target practice in. There's plenty of rounds here for ya." 

Franky walks off and Ace wonders how long they’re going to be stuck here. If his anxiety is bad now, he can’t imagine how bad it will be if this weird lockdown goes on for days. Luckily Zambai chooses that moment to come in to distract him, with his shock of black hair dusted with snow.

“Hey, Ace! I got those things you asked for,” Zambai says, pulling a box of nicotine patches out of a paper bag and waving them.

“Ah, thanks. Have you seen Luffy and Zoro?”

“Oh, they were goofing off out in the yard. Playing Kendo or something, I didn’t want to ask. I didn’t see them when I came back in though, I assume they got cold and came back inside.”  
Ace closes his eyes and groans, “They’ve gone, haven’t they?”

“Gone? Why would they leave?” Zambai looks at him blankly.

“Because Luffy _always_ goes looking for trouble!”

He yanks out his phone and stabs Luffy’s contact picture with his thumb to call him, but it goes straight to voicemail.  
“Goddamnit…” Ace mutters as he quickly sends off a threatening text, not even daring to hope that his brother will text him back.  
“Hey, sorry man…” Zambai shoves the box into his hand and hurries off. 

 

Ace frowns and marches off to find Sanji. Knowing he can't run off after his brother only exacerbates his worry. He can only pray Luffy and Zoro have enough of a brain cell between them to keep each other safe. 

He doesn't realise he's still scowling as he sits next to Sanji on the couch, scattering the playing cards off him while the girls moan at him for interrupting their game. 

Luffy must think he's an idiot for not noticing how pale and unsteady he was, and the patches of blood leaking through his bandages. He tugs Sanji’s collar down to find a place on his chest he can stick one of the nicotine patches to.

“What’s wrong?” Sanji mumbles as he opens his bruised eyes.

“Nothin’…” Ace sighs and makes a frustrated noise as he picks at the lid on the box, “That’s a lie. Everything, actually. Luffy and Zoro ran off, and we have an unconscious lady in the back room.”

He says ‘hell with it’ to himself and brute forces the box open, the patches spill all over Ace’s lap, “Consider yourself lucky that you get to lay here and nap.”

Sanji laughs dryly, "Spending a night getting tortured has its perks, I guess." 

Sanji reaches up to loosen his tie while Ace fiddles with the plastic backing on one of the patches. He glances down to see Sanji’s bandaged hand starting to shake as he tugs at the knot. Ace doesn't bother to waste time asking why he's still wearing the damn thing and starts to undo it himself. 

"Here, let me give you a hand-"

The sentence stops dead in Ace’s mouth as he realises what he just said.

_Fuck._

Sanji raises his eyebrows in a deadpan look, while Ace pauses with his lips clamped shut  and heat beginning to radiate off his face, "I mean… Let me help you with that." 

Sanji starts to smirk, then a loud ‘pahahaha!’ bursts out of him. 

“Stop laughing at me! It’s your fault, you said it first! " Ace says, but then he starts to chuckle too. He finally slaps the patch onto Sanji’s chest, and his hand lingers a little too long rubbing it down.

"What can I say?” Sanji says, “Whatever doesn't kill you-" the way Sanji's dark eyes flick from Ace's hand back up towards his face makes his heart jump a little "-gives you a dark sense of humour, and a _lot_ of unhealthy coping mechanisms." 

"I'd drink to that... ironically. You feelin’ better?" 

" _God_ yes…" Sanji groans and leans back with a little smile. It's a completely inappropriate moment to be thinking about how Sanji's short hair accentuates how slender his neck is, but Ace's brain is already there. He strokes his thumb along his scruffy jawline, wondering just what it is about this idiot that short-circuits his brain and made him think kissing him was a good idea. He spends a good while tugging his collar straight and pulling the blanket up to his neck, before he can bring himself to move away. 

"So, is there anything we can do?" Nami says from across the room, "Apart from drink cocoa and watch you two make moony eyes at each other all night?" 

"Should we go after Luffy and Zoro?" Vivi adds from down on the floor where she has her arms around Merry. 

"I wouldn’t even begin to know where they've gone..." Ace says glumly. 

They look up at Robin's heeled boots tapping into the room, "Ace my dear, it would appear our friend has woken up." 

“If you need someone to knock her out again, I’m _right_ here!” Nami says happily.

 

Ace follows Robin past the bar, through the kitchen that most definitely wouldn’t pass a safety inspection in any other establishment, and through to a dark store area filled with boxes of snacks and kegs of alcohol. Inside, Ace can see the blue haired lady slumped in a chair, with some old packing string tying her to it. 

"She's not needin’ a doctor then?" Ace says. 

"I've given her a basic checkup. I don’t think she has a concussion.”

Before they go in, Ace pulls Robin aside and says quietly, "I don't wanna ask this but... Have you ever interrogated someone before?" 

"’Interrogate’ is such a _strong_ word…" she says breezily, before looking off to the side as if lost in thought. 

 _Translation; yes._ Ace thinks. 

"Let's just ask this young lady a few questions, and go from there." 

Robin steps into the storeroom and flips the lightswitch, which buzzes and stutters a few times before filling the concrete room with harsh white light.

"Hello Zala." Robin says politely. 

The woman lifts her head, a strand of frizzy hair sticks to her forehead and there’s still blood on her face despite someone’s attempts to clean it. There's a ripe bruised lump on her temple.

"Miss All Sunday… Wondered where you've been all these years." Zala says with a smirk, "Thought you'd be dead after Crocodile turned you into a kebab." 

Robin chuckles and idly touches a long white scar on her breastbone, "Indeed, it was a close call." 

"Not close enough if you ask me." 

"Why did you go out to the farm alone, what happened to your partner?" 

Zala clamps her lips shut and scowls at them. 

"Stretched a little thin, are ya?" Ace suggests, while scratching his chin, "Zoro made a mess of one of your agents, Sanji got another one killed… Is your boss runnin' outta dumb meatheads he can send to come kill us or somethin'?"

"Hardly." Zala snorts, "Mihawk has enough people under his orders to turn this place into rubble. You know they're going to come looking when I don't report back soon, right?" 

"You seem very sure of your position in the company. Just like I was at one point." Robin says with a smile. 

"They'll have to find ya first too." Ace adds.

“Oh, they’ll find me. And when they do, you’re all dead.” Zala says smugly. 

Robin leans down, suddenly not smiling anymore. "Don't play games with us Zala, because people I love have been hurt." 

"You can't do anything to me and you know it. Because even if you somehow manage to stop us, Mihawk has the chief of police working right by his side!" 

Ace’s mouth drops open slightly, his thoughts of ‘ _oh my god what in the hell?’_ no doubt written all over his face.

Zala leans back smugly. "You better let me go, because if Sakazuki comes after you, well… You don't have a popsicle's chance in hell of surviving." 

 

* * *

 

The light from the full moon tints the snow and frost with a soft light as they walk between the graves. The hills around them are covered in gravestones for acres all around, making it feel less like a graveyard and more like some sprawling land of the dead.

Zoro kneels at a pair of graves, tall obelisks in the Japanese style, as opposed to the more flat, rectangular shapes surrounding them. He grunts a little in irritation, with his arm still strapped to his chest he can’t touch his hands to pray, he settles for folding one hand in his lap and bowing his head.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t brought anything.” he mutters in Japanese, “Things have been… a little difficult lately.”

Luckily Tashigi is there to cover for him. She nudges his shoulder, handing him a bottle of sake and two little cups.

“Thanks…” Zoro says. 

Tashigi smiles and kneels next to him to fill the cups, then she claps her hands gently and closes her eyes. She briefly glances back at Luffy as he watches on, one of his eyebrows slightly raised.

“Have you told him yet?” she asks Zoro quietly in the same language.

“No, I haven’t really figured out how.” he sighs "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to act so... shifty back at the apartment." 

"It's okay, I had a feeling it was something to do with this, but I didn't want to say anything… Do you want me to give you a moment here?" 

"Please." 

She gets up with a small crunch of snow and lightly touches his shoulder as she walks away.  

Any other year he'd take along a book of the kind of poetry Kuina used to like, read the newspaper for them and stay a while. But right now speaking seems almost wrong. 

The shame that he lost the only keepsake he had left from his family sits like a rock in his stomach. Who even knows what they think of him for allowing Wado to be stolen. 

"I'm going to get it back, I promise." he mutters, before falling silent again. 

Luffy's weird footwear creeps into view, his sandal and the random sports shoe Franky found lying around to replace the one he had lost. He plonks his ass down next to him cross-legged in a spray of snow, "So the anniversary was…" 

Zoro harrumphs at him, "I thought you didn't care about shit that happened in the past."

"I don't. What's happened has happened, y'know?" Luffy leans back and opens his mouth to catch a few flakes of snow on his tongue, "But I care about _you."_

He feels Luffy's dark eyes burning a hole in the side of his head and he shifts a little uncomfortably in the snow, the cold is starting to make his knees go a little numb. 

"C'mon Zoro… Tell me! I mean, you asked me to tell me all about myself, and then you didn't tell me anything about you!" Luffy does a little 'shishishi' giggle, "You're a hypocrite, aren't you?"

"I guess I am." 

Zoro stares into the darkening sky, letting the snowflakes melt on his face and gather on his eyelashes, "The people buried here… they're my adopted father and sister. They were murdered, thirteen years ago today." 

Luffy goes quiet and stares at him with his mouth open slightly, "Who would do something like that?" he interrupts himself with a tearing gasp, "Was it Mihawk?!" 

"I don't know. The whole reason I became a police officer was the hope that maybe I could find out one day… But the case was cold by the time I finished training. I got a little obsessed with going after these types of murders; spent all night on the computer researching the most awful crimes you could think of. When Mihawk started leaving bodies everywhere it almost… made me happy? God, saying that sounds gross…

I guess I thought that if I could stop him, maybe it would fill some kind of hole in my life, like I could serve a bigger purpose… and maybe stop feeling so empty all the time."

 

He had found Kuina first, after he came home from studying at school later than usual. The sky was pink as he followed a trail of blood that led him from the dojo entrance, through to the outdoor practice area to where her body lay in the snow. 

The note lay by her body, written in old fashioned calligraphy. He remembered the feeling of coarse parchment paper under his bloodied, shaking fingers. It had simply read; 'justice is done'. Even lost in grief and panic his mind had started working; _who did this, and why?_

 

"I guess it's why I was kind of closed off when I first met you." Zoro continues quietly, "Letting people into my life always just felt like a pain. Relationships felt like- like they were never meant to _last_." he grabs the bottle of sake and stares into it for a few moments, then takes a swig. 

 

He had found Koushiro next, running upstairs and crying for someone to come and help like a little boy. All the people who worked at the dojo had met some kind of bloody end, either at the end of a sword or via a bullet. 

No voice called back. His adopted father was dead like the rest of them, slumped against the wall still with the little smile on his face he wore most of his life. 

Zoro had sat crouched in the snow with Kuina until the police arrived. 

A huge man with a red face and a bull's neck he'd come to know later as the chief of police, Sakazuki, was first on the scene. He had walked over to Zoro while he sat wrapped in a shock blanket on the back of an ambulance, alone and orphaned for the second time in his life.

_"Terrible luck kid, if you need a job… there's always police work. There's a lot of sickos out there that need stopping. Maybe you could put yourself to good use when you're old enough."_

He had nothing left to his name after that, except Sakazuki's number on a card, a box of photographs and the white sword, Wado Ichimonji. 

 

Zoro barely manages to give Luffy the cliffs notes version of the story, while drinking a good half of the bottle Tashigi brought with her. 

"I couldn't help but think…" Zoro says, suddenly finding it hard to breathe, "Why was _I_ the only one left? Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't have gotten home so late, that I should've died with them." 

Zoro makes a strangled cry as knuckles slam into the top of his head, so hard that he drops the bottle. 

"OW! _Luffy!"_ he growls as he clutches at the ache. 

"Don't give me that _bullshit_!" Luffy yells, "The last thing your family would've wanted was for you to die with them!" 

Luffy gets so agitated he stands up and balls his hands into fists, "Don't ever say you should've died! You _asshole_!" 

Luffy shoves him over into the snow, but there's a soggy note in his voice, and tears are streaming down his face, “I’m sick of people I love saying they’re not good enough and they don’t want to live! How do you think that makes _me_ feel?! I picked you because you ARE good enough! Are you saying I was wrong, _huh?!”_

"Luffy…" 

He wipes his face on a bandage wrapped around his wrist and sniffs, "I could tell something happened to you… Whenever you yelled at me, you always looked… sad. Like you wanted any excuse to drive me away.” 

Luffy takes off his hat and stares into it for a while, then his eyebrows suddenly fold down in a scowl, "Well it didn’t work buddy, you’re _stuck_ with me!”

Zoro grunts a little with surprise as Luffy shoves the hat onto his head, the straw is still warm from his body.

“You know what… I'm glad." Zoro says with a weak smile, "I expected you to give up a long time ago.”

“No way! Because I don’t fucking give up, _ever!_ Now, are we going to go catch Mihawk, or not?" 

"We are."

Tashigi wanders back, looking slightly baffled at the noise, “Zoro… not to interrupt but, did you put those flowers there?” she says, pointing at the bunch of purple violets sitting in one of the pots either side of the grave. As soon as she mentions it, he wonders how he hadn't noticed them before.

He pulls out the bunch and there’s a piece of paper tied around the stems:

 

_Did you remember to bring flowers? I believe these were Kuina’s favourites. Tragedy strikes when we least expect it, but it also builds character._

_Do you know who killed them? Because I do._

_Come to the underground shopping centre at the quays. I've left a gift for you, and I hope you will like it._

 

"Son of a... _"_ Zoro growls. 

 

* * *

 

“ACE? _ACE_!”

Sanji’s raspy, panicked yell makes Ace hastily drop the car magazine he had been leafing through, he almost trips over his jeans as he hurries to get up off the toilet. 

He scans the bar area and the lounge, half on the lookout for some attacker that might have burst in while he was taking a piss, but all he sees are the gang crowded around Franky's flatscreen TV. 

“What, what is it?” Ace stammers, almost annoyed there isn't any danger, as he's still buckling his belt when he walks into the room. 

Sanji’s eyes are wide as he silently points at the screen. 

“Turn it up!” Nami says to Usopp, as Ace sits on the arm of the couch to watch. On the screen is a huge man with blonde hair being pulled onto a stretcher, right outside the warehouse they had rescued Sanji from.

“-the man, believed to be from the Donquixote family,” The newsreader says, “known by his street name of ‘Joker’ was rushed into intensive care after falling from a second story window. The warehouse was  a storage facility for the brand of heroin known as SMILE. His group are currently under investigation for trafficking and potentially manufacturing the drug.” 

“What’s wrong,” Usopp says, “who is that guy?”

“That…” Ace says, “...is the fella Luffy pushed out the window.”

Sanji stares at the TV breathing shallow little breaths with his eyes glazed over, “I don’t feel so good…” he mutters as he slips off the couch, “...Think ‘m gonna go throw up now.”

He limps hurriedly out of the room and they hear the bathroom door slam shut. 

“Thought he was acting a little too okay for a guy who stared death in the face a day or two ago.” Franky mutters.

"I… better go make sure he's alright." Ace says.

 

He finds Sanji, predictably, with his head in the toilet.

“You uh, you okay stranger?” Ace says.

“...Waste of Miss Nico’s cooking.” Sanji mutters, and pauses to spit.

Ace leans against the bathroom stall door and waits for him to stop making awful retching noises.

“They’re going to kill all of us.” Sanji whispers, so quietly that Ace has to strain to hear him, “We should be running from here as _fast as possible.”_

“Even if we did leave, you probably wouldn’t get very far in your condition.” Ace says. 

Sanji leans around miserably, his eyes watering and his lip bleeding from where he busted it open again. Maybe mentioning that was a mistake, Ace winces when he remembers how much Sanji hates feeling like a burden. A few fat droplets of blood fall from his lip onto the toilet seat as he tries to get up and fails.

“Little help?” Sanji mumbles.

Ace offers him an arm and helps him up as carefully as he can, drawing a pained moan out of him anyway. Sanji mutters his thanks and goes to the sink to splash water over his face. He stares into the mirror and pulls down his eyelid, "Ugh, stupid things." 

“Can’t believe you’re wearing contacts, you taking the whole ‘stranger’ concept literally?”

“Shut up. I think when that guy hit me, one of them rolled all the way around my eyeball.”

“...Gross.”

Sanji fusses in front of the mirror for a while until both the dark contacts are sitting on the sink. He blinks a few times, the process makes his eyes irritated-looking and bloodshot, but the startling blue of them makes Ace stop and stare for a few moments.

“Oh! Hey Sanji, I didn’t know you were under there.”

He weakly punches Ace in the chest and Ace chuckles, "You're bleeding again, you're such a mess."

He presses a paper towel to his lower lip and Sanji winces, "Ace I uh… Heard you talking to Franky earlier, about securing the building…" 

"And?" 

"...It's like you're expecting us to get attacked.”

“Better safe than sorry, you know? I dunno what’s going on since we didn’t get much outta that Zala lady. But it’s fine!"

 _Besides one slightly terrifying piece of info that I don’t want to think about._ Ace adds mentally. Who even knew what was going to happen if they could trust the police force even less than usual right now. 

Sanji’s nose wrinkles slightly as he sniffs, “You stink of cigarettes.”

Ace blushes and clears his throat slightly, still a little sore from stealing the rest of Sanji's pack of smokes and burning through them all in one go. The nicotine didn't help his stress levels (possibly made everything worse), but the smell is still a comfort. "Okay so, I'm just a little stressed right now, give me a break! Luffy still ain't responded to my texts…" 

“You’re not doing a great job of convincing me everything’s going to be okay.”

“I’m not doing a great job of convincing _myself_ to be honest.”

Ace finishes dabbing his lip with the towel and tosses it into the bin, "The bottom line is you can't afford to worry right now. It won't do you any good, so try to put it out of your mind.” 

Sanji stabs him in the collarbone with a finger, but the look on his face is awfully soft, “If you end up getting shot, I’m gonna be really pissed at you.”

Ace grins at him, "Sanji… You're not gettin' sweet on me again, are you?" 

"Because not wanting you to die means I’ve forgiven you? Fuck you!" 

"Sure,” Ace snorts, “and that thing you said, 'I'm the only thing that makes sense right now?' that didn't come from nowhere." 

Sanji stands up ramrod straight and his face goes bright pink, "God, did I really say that?" 

"Yes you did, and it was very cute." 

"Don't read too much into it, it was probably the concussion."

Once the blush passes, Sanji looks pale, almost like he’s on the verge of passing out again. Ace tugs at his sleeve and pulls him back to the living room.

"Come on, you look like you need to lie down again." 

 

“Never anything good on TV, is there?” Usopp says as Ace helps Sanji back into his blanket pile, with a fake laugh that trails off when no-one laughs with him.

“Sorry…”

Zambai, Mozu, Kiwi and some other members of the Family come in from outside, bundled up in coats.

"We just got done locking up bro.” Zambai says to Franky, “No one comes in, no one goes out." 

“Ah, thanks guys.”

Ace clears his throat and motions for Franky to talk with him alone, “Sanji thinks we should all clear out, make a run for it.” he says quietly

Franky scowls and tuts, "I ain't running, I've put far too much effort into makin' this place what it is." 

“Yeah, I figured you'd say that… But what if Zoro and Luffy need to get back in?”

"They seemed sure of themselves when they ran off. We can't afford to worry about them now that we’re locked up like Fort Knox. You gonna go out and-” Franky lifts his brows and mimes firing a shotgun.

Ace sighs, “I guess it couldn’t hurt. Usopp, Nami, you coming?”

“Sure Ace.” Nami says, grabbing her rifle. 

Usopp stays put on the couch, still staring nervously at the TV, “I, uh… I should probably double check my slingshot, make sure there’s no tears in the elastic or…”

“What was that you were saying?” Ace gives him a sly grin, “‘Don’t underestimate the slingshot?’ I thought you were going to show off to me.”

Usopp stares him down as he ties a bandana over his head, "Okay _pardner.”_

  
  


* * *

 

The shopping mall is long abandoned and boarded up, with fencing over the entrance and signs that say 'unsafe structure, keep out'. Despite that, it looks like someone has been coming and going, as the fence is slightly ajar and some of the boarding over the windows has been pulled down.

"This feels like a trap.” Tashigi says as the three of them stare at the dark entrance, the old sliding doors flanked on both sides with broken glass.

"Yeah." Zoro says.

She hands him a flashlight while she goes ahead with her gun.

The old mall stinks of mold and mildew, plus seawater. Luffy takes a big sniff and sticks his tongue out in disgust. He vaguely remembers back when he and his brothers explored the place. Something about an unusually high tide during construction caused all the shops to get flooded on a regular basis. At some point the shopkeepers got tired of coming into work and getting their feet wet, so they gave up on the place pretty quickly. Still, there’s a certain nostalgia about the place when he thinks about how easy it was to shoplift from the stores when the owners didn’t give a fuck anymore.

 _Good times…_ he thinks, before his trip down memory lane suddenly gets interrupted.

"ARGH!" Luffy yells in shock. Zoro and Tashigi whirl around to stare at him. 

“What’s wrong?!” Zoro says, his eye wide with shock.

"Sorry… I think there’s water coming from the ceiling…” Luffy says apologetically, rolling his shoulders as something cold trickles down the back of his coat.

The two detectives glance at each other before scowling at him.

“It was really cold, okay? Went right down my asscrack too…" 

"Thanks for the update Luffy, now please try to be quiet." Zoro mutters.

"Do you have any idea of what the note meant by a ‘gift’?" Tashigi says quietly as they move past empty, dark storefronts, their windows boarded and turned from what was once white to a dirty grey by water damage. There isn't even any sign of what they used to be, since their lettering has either worn away or fallen off. 

Zoro takes a while to respond. He cringes as he steps in a puddle, just deep enough for his boot to sink into up to the ankle, “Ugh, no…” He tries to shake off the water like a cat would with wet paws, muttering with disgust as he goes, “But I doubt it’s anything good.”

Tashigi glances at Luffy as he joins her in the lead, knocking his baseball bat against his shoulder. Zoro lights the way for them and their skinny shadows walk alongside them.

"Not sure how I feel about having a civilian here…" she mutters. 

"I'm not a civilian, I'm a firefighter!” Luffy says, “I'm kinda used to disastrous crap like this happening." 

“Right, sorry…” she takes one hand off her gun to quickly push her glasses up her nose, “I saw your handiwork on the TV.”  
“Huh?”  
“The man you pushed out the window? He’s one of the most notorious drug traffickers in the country. I gave the DEA the location of that warehouse you were talking about. They arrested him a few hours ago. He’s in hospital right now, his spine was broken in three places.”

“Oh…” He pushes some junk off an old fountain with his bat as they cross through some sort of plaza area. He feels a faint sense of relief, mixed with anger that the man is still around. Still, if he has a broken spine, he’s not getting up anytime soon to hurt more of his família.

“You’re awfully brave for standing up to a guy like that.” Tashigi says. 

“Brave?” Luffy snorts and swings at a soda can on the floor, “I just wanted him to stop hurting Sanji. What does being brave have anything to do with it?”

Tashigi doesn’t answer him.

They arrive at a pile of debris blocking the way. The only way forward is through an employee serviceway, where a dull light is blinking on and off. 

"Whoever wrote the note knows who killed your family, Zoro.” Tashigi says, “Maybe they left information or… a clue or something.”

Zoro makes a noise that is neither agreeing or disagreeing with her, and shines his light down the tunnel. Luffy touches his shoulder and nods to say ‘let me go first.’

Luffy pulls the bat from his shoulder as he leads the way, prepared to swing it at the first sign of movement. Even his own shadow moving on the wall beside him is making him twitchy and nervous.

The old goods elevator sits at the far end of the tunnel, and a steady stream of cold water runs down the floor towards them. The cold concrete walls and drip of water do nothing to help the mounting feeling of dread as Zoro shines his light on the floor.

“You find something?” Luffy says.

Zoro kneels down and picks up a purple flower petal, a trail of them lead down to the end of the hall, into an old storage room.

Luffy steps over a trail of flower petals into the room and his heart sinks.

The room is filled with dead bodies, bloody corpses covered in slash marks. 

"Don't touch anything!" Zoro says in a panic as Luffy walks in. He carefully steps around a body slumped next to the door and around the pool of dark, coagulated blood. They’re all so badly cut up that their faces are unrecognisable. Some of them even have limbs separated from their bodies. 

Right in the chest cavity of one of them is Zoro’s white sword, or it used to be white, the blade and hilt are all coated in dark blood. 

Zoro crouches by one of the bodies, shining the light down onto it. 

"Oh no…" he mutters, barely audibly as he pulls at the dead man's shirt. There's a weird symbol printed on it that the other bodies seem to share.

"Do you know them, who are they?” Luffy says.

“The mark of the Kurozumis, they- they worked with Kaidou but…” Zoro turns his attention back to the blade, there’s another note wrapped around it, secured with a plastic tie to make it impossible to remove without taking out the blade first. 

Zoro grabs the bloody hilt, and it makes a horrible wet crunch as he pulls it out of the body. 

Tashigi scrunches her face up as she pulls the note from the blade. 

 

_Do you like my gift? These men murdered your family and went happily on with their lives, while yours was destroyed. While you wasted time with your investigations, I figured it out for you. You sought after justice for so long, but the kind of idealised justice you seek doesn’t exist._

_By the time you read this, the police will have been tipped off to the location of these bodies. You had better start running, Roronoa Zoro._

 

Zoro pales as Tashigi reads the note out loud. He scans the room quickly. Wado's sheath is resting, covered with droplets of blood, on a nearby crate. He shoves the sword back into it and swings the strap over his shoulders. For a few moments the three of them can only stare at each other silently. Then they hear the distant rumbling shudder of a helicopter flying overhead.

Zoro bolts for the door first, then Luffy dashes after him. He nearly trips over some rubble in his haste to follow him back out of the dark mall, the light swinging as Zoro sprints ahead not helping.

The three of them skid to a halt as they dash back outside, only to find a cop car waiting for them with its lights flashing.

A young cop with pink hair steps out of the car, while a blonde man with slicked back hair and a butt-chin steps out of the other side. 

“Hey, we work with those guys..."  Zoro says quietly. "They'll listen to us."

He sounds doubtful, since Pink-hair’s eyes are wide with fear, and he draws his gun as soon as he steps out of the passenger seat.

"Please… Put the sword down Mr Roronoa sir… I-I don't want to shoot you!" 

Zoro puts a hand up to try and placate the man. "Coby, hey just… calm down, we can explain!”

“G-get down on the ground! Miss Tashigi sir, y-you too!”

Zoro makes the mistake of putting a foot forward. Coby’s gun flashes as he fires and the gunshot rings out a second later. Luffy jerks his head in Zoro's direction with a gasp, searching his body and the grey sweater he’s wearing for any signs of blood, but there’s only a smoking hole in the ground close to his boot. Coby’s hands are shaking, “Mr Zoro sir- please just-”

Luffy sprints in front of Zoro and punches the cop hard in the face. He flies backwards into his car and thuds against the metal.

"H-hey!" the blonde starts to stutter, he aims his gun at him at Luffy and he flings his baseball bat as hard as he can with a grunt. It misses and shatters into the windscreen of the cop car, but butt-chin yelps and gives Luffy enough of an opening to slide across the hood and close in. He grabs him by the front of his shirt and headbutts him hard in the nose. He falls over like a sack of potatoes with blood streaming down his face.

He shakes off the slight dizziness the impact caused, then turns back to Zoro and Tashigi, breathing hard. His knuckles are screaming from the impact and he can feel the slight wet of blood oozing through his bandages. 

"COME ON!" Luffy urges them. 

They run back towards Tashigi's car. 

“You just hit a cop!” Zoro yells as he catches up to him, his sword clinking in its sheath as it bounces against his shoulder.  
“They _shot_ at you-!” Luffy stumbles with a grunt at the pain flaring up his leg, before lurching back into a sprint, “Are you complaining?!”  
“I guess not!”

  
  


* * *

 

Ace rankles to find out that Usopp indeed has the best aim out of any of them. When Ace tries to hit a target with the funny horseshoe-shaped slingshot, he can't even make the little ball-bearing projectile fly in a straight line. 

Usopp's smug grin greets him when he comes back from retrieving the lead balls he had just scattered all across the yard. 

"Not as easy as it looks, huh?" 

"I guess. Your nose must work as an aiming guide." 

Usopp opens his mouth to make some kind of retort, but a single blare of police sirens stops him. The lights of a cop car are the last thing Ace wants to see right now.

“I’ll go see what they want.” Ace says, hiding his shotgun behind a stack of tires before he moves away.

“Sorry! We’re closed up for the night!” Ace calls as he walks over to the main gate.

The green-haired cop at the entrance is undeterred. She pushes up her round glasses before reaching into her puffy white coat. 

“I have a warrant for the arrest of this man, Roronoa Zoro.”

She holds up the piece of official documentation with a smile. Ace tries not to let his utter fucking bewilderment show on his face, and probably does a bad job of it, as it takes him a while to speak, “There’s no-one here by that name so… you can leave now.”

Her smile only grows wider as she walks forward and puts her face up to the bars, “You were one of the men at the warehouse, weren’t you? I saw the whole thing, and I know Roronoa was there too. Open the gates. It will only get worse for you if you don’t.”

“Why do you want to arrest him?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard? He’s a killer, quadruple homicide.”

The sentence stalls his brain for a few seconds, because of course he knows Zoro hasn't killed anyone, he's been with them more or less constantly for the last few days… 

“Come back with a search warrant. I have nothing to say to you.”

He walks away, only for her voice to call after him, “I know you have Vinsmoke in there too!”

He stops in his tracks and clenches his fists. She makes a face of mock astonishment and the corners of her mouth pull up in a mocking smile, "Unless… Boss Doflamingo finished him off?" 

"Get fucked!" Ace growls at her before storming back over to the others. 

 

He herds them all back inside, but soon they hear the dual sounds of Sunny's thunderous barks rolling around the yard and Merry's higher pitched yaps along with her. 

 

"What's going on?" Sanji says, sitting up in a panic as they all rush into the lounge.

"I think…" Usopp swallows thickly and nervously licks his lips, "We should put the TV back on." He picks up the remote and rapid-fire flips the channel through re-runs of Zeff's cooking show to get back to the 24 hour news channel. 

They see a man with hair almost the same colour grey as his face at a stand, with microphones from various news channels directed at him.

"Tonight, at approximately ten PM, we discovered the bodies of four men located at a disused shopping mall at Fishman Quay. We believe this is part of a long gang war between the Isshin and the Kurozumi groups that has spanned years.” The man takes a deep breath and swipes a hand over his face. 

"The suspects are believed to be-" for a second the man's composure breaks and they hear a faint 'God- _fucking_ -dammit! Are you _really_ making me do this?' 

"-Roronoa Zoro, who was spotted fleeing the scene. With him are Noda Tashigi and an unidentified male, believed to be roughly five foot eight in his mid twenties. The suspects are believed to be armed and dangerous. Please report any sightings of these people to the All Blue police department. That is all."

"But… Zoro’s been with us all night!" Vivi says.

"This is a frame-up, it's gotta be…" Nami adds.

"Well whatever's going on, we got cops out there Franky, and I think they're part of that flamingo guy's troop. What do we do?" Ace says.

“We get ready.”

 

* * *

 

Tashigi drives them all over the city to avoid the helicopters looming overhead, heading back up to Whiskey Peak where they started, just to have somewhere to hide and collect their thoughts. She parks them in a small rest stop, under the cover of some trees. Luffy has blood running down his leg and into his shoe by the time one of them gets out to check on him.

"I'm fine- AH!" Luffy says, flinching as Zoro lifts up a sopping wet bandage. He cringes at the deep gash under Luffy’s knee, it being at least the second time the damn thing has opened back up he’s sure. Tashigi takes off Zoro’s silly Christmas tree print scarf and ties it firmly around Luffy's knee. He hisses in pain, but it at least seems to stop the bleeding.

“Shigs… what the fuck are we going to do?” Zoro says.

“I… I don’t know.”

She straightens up and wipes some of Luffy’s blood off on her pants, “I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while now, but… back when we were first investigating the Don Krieg case, Monet and Vergo they- they offered me a deal to drop it. I knew they didn’t want us sniffing around but I couldn’t take it, even though I knew it would get us into an even bigger mess.”

She clenches her fists and shuts her eyes.

“Even though I know people like Sakazuki and Monet are rotten to the core, I thought… just maybe if I kept going I could eventually help change things for the better. I’ve been blind to what they’ve been doing the whole time.”

She takes off her glasses to clean them on the fluffy sleeve of her coat, “I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you…”

“Shigs it’s okay, they offered me the same deal.” Zoro says, “They were going to try and blackmail me but I just shrugged them off. I should’ve known they’d offer the same to you. God, we’re idiots...”

Tashigi smiles wryly and nudges his knee with her own, “Well… I guess there’s nothing left to lose. No Smoker around to tell us we can’t head straight for Mihawk.”

Luffy pulls his phone out of his pocket and frowns, “Ace? Are you okay, what’s-”

Zoro can hear Ace’s voice bursting out of the phone in a thickly southern panicked rush, “Luffy what the hell is goin’ on?! We just got a cop at the gates sayin’ Zoro murdered a bunch of people, they have a warrant for his arrest! It’s all over the TV- please PLEASE tell me you’re safe!”

“Ace listen just… CALAR-SE! We’re alright, a cop or two came after us but-”

“A COP OR _TWO_?!”

“Ace shut up for one fucking second! Wait, wh... what do you mean the cops are there?”

Something electric and painful runs down Zoro’s spine as Luffy looks up at them to say “Ace says this cop with green hair showed up at Franky House. She recognised him from the warehouse…”

“Monet… She tried to kill us.”  
“Ace just... don’t let them in, no matter what you do! We’re going to try and fix this.”

Zoro faintly hears one more protest out of Ace as Luffy hangs up the phone.

“We should go!” Luffy says, trying to get up and fighting off Zoro’s arm as he tries to keep him down.

“Go where exactly?” Zoro says, “What do you want us to do?! You can barely walk!”  
Luffy shrugs him away and tugs on his hair as he limps back and forth.

"I don’t know, but it doesn't fucking matter if I'm alright or not -as you can keep going to find Mihawk... So stop _worrying_ about me!”

They don’t notice the car rolling along the road with its lights off until it stops, and a tall blonde man steps out of the car. Zoro almost has a heart attack, as the silhouette looks about the same height and build as Doflamingo. Tashigi pulls out her gun without a moment’s hesitation.

“I’m not here to arrest you, don’t shoot.” A soft voice says from the darkness. Tashigi squints, and Zoro faintly sees the silhouette raise his hands.

“Lieutenant... Rosinante? Don’t try and stop us... sir.”  
“I know you didn’t murder those people Roronoa. You’re the ones who took down Doflamingo right?” Rosinante says.

The man steps into the light and Zoro can see his uniform, mostly hidden under a black feathery coat. He can see that his build is similar to Doffy’s, but his face is much softer, kinder. He thinks back to the last time he was at the station, looking around to try and figure out who in the room might be another corrupt cop.

“I thought you might be working with Mihawk.” Zoro admits.

“In a way you’re not wrong. I’ve been doing undercover work for years, you see… Doflamingo is my brother.” Rosinante pauses to light a cigarette, and the smoke mingles with his breath in the cold air, “He trusts me… to a degree, so I’m the perfect agent to sit at his right hand and report on what he’s doing. I’ve been living on a knife’s edge, knowing it was only a matter of time before he found out I wasn’t truly on his side.”

“Um, sir? Your coat is…” Tashigi says, pointing at where Rosinante is still holding his lighter open and the flame is slowly burning a hole in his feather coat.

“Ah… Happens a lot, don’t worry about it.”

He pats the flame out, only for his sleeve to start smouldering too. Zoro glances at Tashigi as the man dives ungracefully to shove his hand into a snowdrift to put it out.

“Sengoku and I have known about Sakazuki’s deal with Mihawk for some time,” Rosinante continues, “We’ve been keeping it secret from well… pretty much everyone in the force, because we knew full well that we’d end up in a situation like you are now.”

“So, what do you want with us?” Zoro says.

“Well, now that Doffy- I mean… Doflamingo is out of commission for a while, someone out there is definitely going to try and jump into his place. You sure stirred up the hive. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of the chaos.”

Rosinante winces as his cigarette burned down to the filter, apparently without him noticing since he hurries to flick the stub away. “It’s funny, I’ve been trying to find a way to outwit Doflamingo for years, I never expected to hear that he’s been shoved out a window!”

“The best solution to a problem is usually the easiest one.” Luffy says slowly.

“It’s great that you want to help but…” Tashigi says, “We’ve reached a dead end here. We followed some notes to the crime scene Mihawk left, but we’ve got nothing more to go on here.”

"Leave that to me.” Rosinante says, “It'll be dangerous, but I think I can lead you straight to him.”

 

 

  
  
  
  



	9. You're gonna end up under tooth and nail...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rosinante leads Zoro to Mihawk's base of operations, but the forces of Baroque Works and the remnants of the Donquixote family stand in their way...  
> The lockdown at Franky House turns into a standoff.   
> It's the beginning of the end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for character death.

A rectangle of light illuminates the apartment, and his shadow is thrown long across the floor as he steps inside.

It’s dark, it’s messy, it stinks - he hasn’t been here in weeks. The light won't turn on; he probably forgot to pay the electric bill this month. 

He walks over to the window, his feet scattering the old fast food containers he told himself he would clean up weeks ago. A few icicles fall off the outside of the window as he struggles to pull it open, and a shower of snow falls off when it finally gives way. Cold wind blows through, but the apartment is so chilled it barely makes a difference. The radiators won’t turn on... meaning he probably forgot to pay the gas as well. 

 

He pulls his bed down from the wall and shoves more snack containers off it. A cloud of dust rises from it when he slumps down and makes him choke.

His eyes are streaming, and he’s doubled over with fits of coughing when his phone rings.

“W-who is it? Oh… hey boss.”  
“Luffy-kun!” the voice gravels back at him. "I've been meaning to talk to you!" 

“You’re gonna fire me, aren’t you?” Luffy says, not a trace of emotion in his voice.

“I…” Jinbe stops and sighs. “I probably should. I’ve been runnin’ around like a headless chicken covering for you!”

“Okay.” 

Jinbe pauses for a while and takes a long exhale. The exhale turns into a sigh, which in turn becomes a long groan.

“You know I can’t… after- after what happened to your brother. I can cover for ya a little bit longer. I just wish you’d at least told me what was going on. Maybe I coulda helped?”

Luffy is silent. Thinking about whether he could have helped or not is pointless. He doesn't even waste time thinking about it. 

"Take as much time as you need.” Jinbe continues eventually. “I'll be here if you need someone to talk to." 

“Thanks, Jinbe.”

After he hangs up, he listlessly tosses his phone, aiming to land it on the coffee table, but it bounces off more food containers and hits the floor. From the apartment below, he can feel the thump of music travelling up through the floorboards. Screams and laughter from the party almost make him stand up and wander off to investigate; maybe pretend he knows the nearest person within reaching distance and join in.

But he doesn’t - there’s nothing to celebrate.

The sweatshirt he stole off Zoro is bundled up in a pile, probably hasn’t moved since the day he took it home.

He gathers the soft fabric to his face and inhales. If he concentrates he can still smell the vaguely pine-scented fabric softener Zoro used.

"Zoro… I really need you here right now…"  he mumbles into it. His tears soon soak into it. He's sick of crying. He's cried more this week than he’s ever done in his life. He’s thrown shit around and screamed himself hoarse. No matter how much he rages, it doesn't change anything. 

 

Zoro is gone, and there's nothing he can do. 

  
  
  


**Back in the present…**

  
  


Zoro’s eye burns a hole in Lieutenant Rosinante’s back as he escorts them to his car. 

He’s still glaring at him when Rosinante tries to walk around to the driver's seat, trips and plunges head first into a snowdrift. Zoro's glare turns into a baffled look as he thinks - _How has this guy survived doing undercover work for so long?_

“Oi, Rosinante.” Zoro says quietly, as the big man picks himself up. He subtly herds him away from Tashigi and Luffy so they can't hear what he's saying. 

“Please, call me Corazón.” he says as he spits out a mouthful of snow and what appear to be twigs.  
“Fine, _Corazón_. I want to know you aren’t just going to take us somewhere and lead us into an ambush.”

"I told you I would lead you to Mihawk, which might get you killed. What difference does it make if it’s a trap or not?" 

"Just… don't try anything funny, or I'll kill you myself." 

He almost feels guilty at the look of real shock on Corazón's face. Almost.

"What happened to you, Roronoa? I mean everyone at the precinct says you’re a little odd and withdrawn… antisocial maybe, but not like this." 

"Yeah well, maybe you would be 'like this’ too if you were in my shoes…"

In just a few weeks he's been shot, lost an eye, been beaten and had his arm broken... Being framed for murder was just the perfect way to top off his complete mental breakdown. 

"...Just don't expect me to trust you when you show up out of the blue like this." Zoro finishes, before turning away with one last warning glare.

At least Tashigi shares his reservations. She walks up to Corazón and holds her hand out. “Sorry to be rude sir.” she says. “But maybe it would be best if I drive.” 

Zoro isn’t sure if she’s more concerned about Corazón’s clumsiness extending to his driving, or him possibly leading them into an ambush. He hands the car keys over to her anyway, with a little shrug and a protrusion of his lip, as if to say 'that's fair enough'.

Zoro grabs Luffy’s hand and lets him lean against him as they clamber into the back of Corazón’s car. 

 

Tashigi drives them away over the rounded hills of Whiskey Peak. It’s snowing so thickly that they can barely see out of the windows. For a while, the only sounds are the windscreen wipers thumping back and forth, and Corazón’s muttered directions.

“Where are we headed exactly?” Tashigi asks, with her eyes fixed on the dark road ahead.

"You know that old cathedral on Muggy Hill?” Corazón says. “They've been taking public donations for years to get the roofing fixed, but really all that money went to funding Baroque Works and the SMILE operations. They made up some crap about dry rot and now they use the place as storage for Don Krieg's weapons. That's where Mihawk should be.”

“What made you wanna help us, Coração*?” Luffy says, swinging his arms over the back of Corazón’s seat. “They’ll crazy-murder you when they find out you’re helping us!”

The way they’re heading, Zoro is trying to get himself to accept the possibility that none of them are going to make it out of this alive. He’s just being realistic, but the thought still makes him shiver.

“To be honest, living like this is exhausting.” Corazón says. “I don’t have any friends or family - too scared of what might happen to them if anyone finds out what I’ve been doing. Since you took down Doflamingo, it gave me hope that maybe I could start living a somewhat normal life. I have someone I’d like to get home to...”

“Who?” Luffy asks.

“My son. Last time I saw him he was just going into medical school. I’ve given everything I have to keep him out of danger, and I’m running on empty. I’d give anything if I could just see him again…”

Zoro hums thoughtfully as Corazón turns to look out of the window. “So… you’ve known where Mihawk’s been this whole time?” 

Corazón looks at him via the rear view mirror and blinks. “He doesn’t exactly keep it a secret. He knows he’s untouchable.”

Zoro huffs in response. 

“Once we get close, we should ditch the car and go on foot.” Corazón continues. “I’ll try to talk our way past the guards. If that doesn’t work, we might have to fight our way in.” Corazón turns around in his seat and looks at them worriedly. 

"Uh, will you two be okay if it comes to that?”

Luffy makes a small growl and Zoro puts a placating hand on his shoulder. 

"Don't worry about us." Zoro says, to avoid another outburst from Luffy about how he’s ‘fine’ when he’s obviously anything but. 

 

The hills turn craggy around them as they drive further and further upwards. The greenery changes from bare skeletons of deciduous trees to pine trees, buried under the weight of snow. All Blue City is little more than a blur of winking lights from this distance.

 

"Stop here." Corazón says suddenly, and the car jerks as Tashigi puts on the brakes. Zoro frowns. They appear to be in the middle of nowhere. The only thing separating them from a steep drop down the cliffs towards the sea is a rickety wooden fence. As they get out of the car, Zoro turns to see the faint blue lines of the cathedral looming out of the fog and snow. The building is enormous, almost as tall as some of the skyscrapers in the city, the chapel next to it just as imposing.

"Come on, this way." Corazón points them down a worn path between two rows of pine trees. Zoro offers Luffy a hand, but he shoos him away as he clambers out of the car. 

He seems to be in a good deal of pain; every step he takes he can't fully put weight on his injured leg and stares down the path with fierce concentration. 

“You’re a lucky man, Zoro." Corazón says as he leads the way. His voice seems startlingly loud in the darkness, even though he seems to be trying to keep his voice and footsteps low. 

"Mihawk doesn’t usually let his victims live.”

“Somehow I don’t think luck has anything to do with it.” Zoro says slowly. “He’s… _interested_ in me. Hell if I know why.”   
Corazón turns and studies him with a bright brown eye. “What makes you say that?”

“A few years ago when I went after him at Sabaody Park, he seemed to recognise me when I told him my name. I feel like he would have killed me long ago if he didn’t have some sort of weird fascination with me. And the notes he wrote to lead us to the crime scene… It feels _friendly_ to me, like he just wants to play a game.”

“Yes, from what I know of Mihawk that sounds about right.” Corazón says, lighting up a cigarette. He trips and looks like he’s about to set himself on fire again before he catches himself. “When you have half the city working for you and all the money you could ever want, it must get boring eventually.”

“It's like murdering me would be some kind of ‘faux pas’ on his part. I think ‘churlish’ was the word he used."  
Zoro feels something tugging his coat sleeve and glances over to find Luffy looking at him questioningly. He leans up and whispers in Zoro’s ear. “Churl means when you puke so hard some of it comes out your nose, right?”

Zoro lifts his hand to smack him over the head, but can't bring himself to and pats him instead, ruffling his coarse hair. “...No.”

The trees clear slightly as they approach the cathedral, and the white clarity of spotlights appear at the end of the tunnel. They can see a construction fence set up around the perimeter of the cathedral, with signs periodically placed for ‘Pica Stonemasons’. Two guards stand either side of the entrance, and they’re both holding large guns. A truck with the same logo on it slowly exits the gates as they watch, and they press themselves back into the cover of the trees as it passes.

“There’s one more thing.” Corazón says quietly. “Since Doflamingo was taken down, Mihawk put the word out to move his stock of weapons out to a new location. If we can’t arrest Mihawk tonight well… who knows where he’ll have moved out to. And if my cover gets blown tonight, I won't be able to help you, because I'll be dead."

"So basically, 'don't fuck it up'." Luffy whispers back.

"Essentially." 

" _Great_ …"

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Sunny and Merry’s barks quietened a while ago. Ace goes to look out the window to make sure that the green haired cop and her car are gone. The danger has passed… for now at least. He allows himself a small breath of relief, only for fresh worry to hit him as soon as he turns back towards the lounge. 

Sanji is even more of a wreck than he was the night they brought him to the clinic, shaking like a leaf and hiding under Robin's arm while she strokes his hair. Usopp and Nami hover nearby, wanting to help but looking at a loss. 

"Man, not even being hugged by a beautiful lady helps this time, huh?" Ace says sadly. 

“Hey Sanji.” Usopp says. “Wanna hear a joke?”

“Please, no…” Nami groans.

Usopp launches into the joke without so much as a pause. “A cowboy appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, an’ St. Peter asks; ‘Have you ever done anything of particular merit in your life?’"

Usopp puts his thumbs in the straps of his dungarees and adopts a ridiculous southern drawl for the second voice. "'Well, ah can think o' one thing,’ the cowboy offered. ‘On a trip to the Big Horn Mountains, I came upon a gang o' bikers who were threatening a young lady. I told them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen. So, ah went up to the biggest guy and smacked him in the face; kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, an' threw it on the ground. Then I yelled, 'Now, _back off,_ or I'll beat y'all unconscious!’ 

"Saint Peter was impressed, ‘When did this happen?’ and the cowboy says…" 

A grin grows on Usopp' s face as he spreads his hands. "‘Couple o' minutes ago!”

Usopp waits for them to laugh with an expectant look, while the four of them stare at him.

"What was your endgame for bringin' that Finger lady back here?" Ace asks Robin, ignoring the way Usopp deflates like a tyre that ran over a nail. Sanji goes back to his shivering.

"Leverage. “Robin says. “She could buy us some time.They might think twice about attacking us if they're concerned about her safety." 

“If they come back-” Sanji says, so low that they have to lean in to hear him. “If they come back, you should hand me over…”

“What makes you think we would ever do that?!” Usopp says.

“Because it’s better if just one of us gets killed than _all_ of us!”   
“Yeah, we’re not doing that. Shut up Sanji.” Nami says, reaching down to yank a strand of his hair.

“Hey, don’t tell him to shut up!” Ace says. “But yeah, shut up Sanji, we’re not doing that.”

 

Ace spots Vivi staring a little vacantly out of the window and walks over to her. She jolts at his approach with her brown eyes wide. 

“Hey Viv, could you do me a favour and keep an eye out for Sanji? It might get pretty hairy out there and I don’t want him doin’ anything crazy.”

“Anything crazy? Vivi says. 

“Like… ‘runnin’ out there and trying to sacrifice himself for us’ kind of crazy."

Vivi nods slowly and looks back out of the window. “There’s no guarantee they’d leave us alone, even if he did.”

“Yeah.” he says heavily. “And I know for sure that he ain’t gonna listen to me or Franky. I thought maybe you’d have a better chance of gettin’ him to stay put.”

Vivi chuckles slightly. "I don't know how you coped with him for so long. Whenever a pretty girl walks past, his eyes pop out on their stalks." 

Ace snorts. "I was fine with him lookin', as long as he came home to me. He's all talk, no game." 

Vivi chuckles again, but seems a little out of it as she stares out at the snow swirling around. 

"Nami told me once about what happened with Arlong…" she says. Ace glances at her sharply at the man's name. From the bits and pieces he got from Luffy, that whole situation hadn't been pretty. 

“That creep who killed her-?”

“Yeah, that guy. She didn’t go into details but I know she… I don’t ever want her to have to do something like that ever again. She was in a dark place when I first met her...”

Vivi turns to him and places a hand on his shoulder. "Please look out for her." 

“I’ll do my best. We're gonna get through this Viv." He briefly touches her hand before he hears Franky bellowing from the front door.

"Ace, Usopp, Nami. C'mere kiddos!" Franky waves him over and they head outside together.

He leads the way as he crunches through a well-defined path in the snow out towards his workshed. When he clicks on the lights, rows and rows of shelves with neatly-organized boxes flicker into view. It’s only slightly smaller than a building supply store, and tucked into the corner is Franky’s drafting desk. Next to his seat is an elaborately carved wooden dog bed with Sunny’s name etched into it.

"You better put these on." Franky says, handing the three of them a heavy vest each. 

"Bullet vests? Where'd you get these?" Usopp says. 

"Know a guy who knows a guy… who may have robbed an army supply warehouse. If you see anything else you think you could find useful, be my guest.”

Ace doesn't like how the vest restricts his breathing, or how it clings and rubs in awkward places like under his pits, but if it stops him getting shot… 

“There’s only two entry points, so maybe we could lay some traps.” Nami says, as she starts pulling boxes off shelves to look inside. 

“Leave that to me.” Usopp says. He quickly goes along the shelves, cooing at a box full of caltrops and reaching in. Ace straps on a belt full of extra shotgun rounds and loosens it to make sure he can reach them without his jacket getting in the way. A few moments later and he hears a sharp yelp from Usopp’s direction. Ace leans around the shelves to see him sucking his finger.

“Those look sharp. Watch out Usopp.” 

“Thanks Ace.”

He hears Franky and Nami giggling and looks over. Franky found a bullet vest for Sunny, but it compresses her poofy fur to the point where her chest looks ridiculously small compared to the rest of her. She looks at them grumpily from under her mane of red fur, looking even more like a small lion than usual. She turns her head and tries to bite at the straps as soon as Franky lets her go. 

“Hey now kiddo, that could save your life - don’t bite it!” Franky says.

 

While Usopp is carting the box of caltrops over to the door, the two women with very square afros and long noses burst in. He shrieks as he flails desperately to stop the box’s contents from spilling everywhere.

"Franky!" the women say at once.

"Oh! Mozu, Kiwi, what is it?" 

"Hey big brother… We don't want to worry you but there's cars arriving outside the gates.” 

Ace checks one more time to make sure the straps on his vest are tight enough and pulls his parka back on. “I’m goin’ out there. To try an’ bargain with them.” he says as he heads out the door.

“Bargain, are you crazy?!” Usopp says with a look of horror. “There’s no bargaining with guys like those!" 

“It’s worth a try.”

“T-then I’m coming with you!

“Alright, as long as you’re not too scared.” Ace says with eyebrows raised as he turns away. 

"Who says I'm scared?!" Usopp snaps, running after him on quivering rubber-hose legs. 

 

Two of the cars are waiting half parked on the kerb, while the others have their lights off as they linger by the front. If Ace squints, he can faintly see a couple of people getting out and starting to walk around the perimeter. A thrum of anger goes up his spine as he recognises the pair who followed Luffy back at his repair shop. ‘Crocodile’, Robin called the hook-handed guy. He doesn’t know the bald unibrow’s name. He idly considers firing off a warning shot at them again, but he thinks better of wasting ammo. 

He keeps both hands firmly on his shotgun as he glares through the bars at the two men.

“What can I do for you two... not-shady-at-all gentlemen on this fine night?” Ace says.

“I think that you have something that belongs to us.” Crocodile growls while chomping on his cigar. “A friend of ours, and a couple of sewer rats. Luffy D. Macaco and Sanji Vinsmoke.”

“How many times do we gotta tell you people? Sanji isn’t a Vinsmoke!” Usopp snarls, while hiding half behind Ace's shoulder. 

"Whatever." Crocodile gruffs. “I don’t make a habit of remembering the names of dead men.”

Ace closes his eyes briefly and swallows back his anger. The last thing he wants to do is bargain with the people who stalked and hurt his brother and friends, but if there's even a small chance of getting out of this without any more violence, he has to take it. 

"It could be better for both our parties if we could come to terms." Ace says.

Crocodile blinks slowly and puffs a cloud of yellow smoke into his face. "Terms, huh? Here are our terms: Hand over Miss Double Finger, and Macaco and Vinsmoke, or die. It's quite simple." 

"We're not giving up Sanji." Ace says firmly. "Luffy ain't here either, so you're shit outta luck with that one."

"Well then…" Crocodile tilts his hook so the gaudy thing glints yellow and white. He casually turns his back on Ace, not before tossing the rest of his cigar at his feet. 

"If you try to get in, we’ll kill her.” Ace says grimly.

Crocodile snorts. "You don't have the balls." 

"You want to find out for real? Go on and try _fuckhead."_

“Y-yeah!” Usopp adds. “We’re not giving up our friend for anything! You ugly bastards aren't getting in, so suck it!"  
“Dial it back a bit there champ.” Ace mutters as they head back inside.

“If you think you’re safe in there, you’re mistaken.” Crocodile calls after them.

 

“Were you really serious about killing Double Finger?” Usopp whispers as they head back inside.

“I dunno. I just grabbed that out of my head on a whim. We’d lose that leverage Robin was talking about anyway, so it probably ain’t a good idea.”

“Sure sounded tough, Mr. Cowboy.”

Usopp elbows him in the ribs, then curses as he smacks him where the tough material of the bullet vest is. Ace has to suppress a shudder, and he’s not sure why.

  
  


* * *

  
  


"Okay, wait here.” Corazón leaves the cover of the trees and walks casually - a little _too_ casually in Luffy’s opinion - over to the guards, who look cold and miserable but still alert. Luffy squashes himself further against the tree he’s leaning against, clinging to the rough bark as Corazón talks to them. They seem to get more and more agitated at Corazón’s beaming smile and placating hand gestures. One of them raises his voice and points his gun in Corazón’s face, and the guy just raises his hands with a harmless grin. Then Corazón pretends to trip over his own feet. As he stumbles, he rips one of the men’s guns out of his hands and viciously smacks him over the back of the head with it. He throws the unconscious man into the other one and kicks a fall of snow over their tangled, unmoving bodies.

“Okay, talking’s done - hurry up, let’s go!” Corazón says as he runs back over to them.

Luffy giggles a little as they run through the gates. “Hey Coração, what kinda fighting style was that?”

“Fuck, hell if I know.” Corazón says as he leads them away from the main path towards the cathedral, over a snowbank so they can approach the chapel building without being seen.

“Wait, wait!” Tashigi calls after them.

“What is it?” Zoro pants as he tries to keep up.

“Does it feel like we’re being followed to you?”

The snow around their feet starts glowing red and blue, and they look from where they just came to see the lights of police cars flashing.

"Ah shit!" Corazón says. 

"Did you call them here?!" Zoro growls at Corazón. 

"No! It's not in my interests to have you arrested, I swear!”

"Come on, stop arguing and move!" Tashigi snaps at them. 

It seems to be too late. Luffy hears the sound of boots stomping through snow. Boots moving very, very quickly. The glare of a flashlight moving wildly blinds Luffy to who’s approaching.

“Ah, shit.” Zoro mutters.

 

Luffy cries out as something heavy slams into him and tackles him further down the snow bank. He makes a strangled noise and tries to kick out with his legs, but the man is heavy and painfully traps his legs with his knees. It’s hard to breathe as something like a baton presses into his throat, even harder when cigar smoke puffs in his face.

 _Are you kidding me, we just got here and we’re already caught?!_ Luffy thinks. He can see Zoro’s face out of the corner of his eye and his face is twisted in a snarl. He doesn’t look worried or afraid though, he just looks plain pissed the hell off.

"Knock it off, Smoker!” Zoro yells at the man. The weight on Luffy’s body shifts slightly as the smokey guy glares up at Zoro.

“Roronoa… " he growls. "Coby, Helmeppo - cuff them!”

The pink haired cop that shot at Zoro trembles, his face ripe with bruising where Luffy socked him in the nose earlier. Neither he, or the blonde butt-chin cop seem to want to be the first to try. 

“I expected this from him, but you too, Tashigi? And... Rosinante, what the _hell_ are you doing here?”

“We can explain, if you stop and listen for one goddamn second!” Zoro snarls.

Smoker eases his grip on Luffy's throat and he tries to wriggle out, kicking and growling. 

"You’ve got five minutes before I drag you to Impel Down myself! Who the hell is _this_ anyway?!" 

"I'm… Zoro's _boyfriend!"_ Luffy chokes indignantly. "Will you let me _go?!"_

He slowly takes the weird baton thing away from Luffy’s throat and allows him to get up. Zoro stalks forward to shove him away and help Luffy stand up. He gasps with relief and rubs the sore spot where the smokey-guy probably bruised his larynx. Zoro tries to put an arm around him and he initially resists, not wanting to look like he’s running to him for comfort, but then squashes himself against Zoro’s body anyway. Everything already hurt before the smokey-guy made it all worse.

“What are you _doing_ here?!” Zoro whispers savagely at Smoker. “You’re going to fuck everything up! Were you the one who sent Coby and Helmeppo after us too?!”

“He an’ Helmeppo happened to be closest to the crime scene.” Smoker says. “Didn’t expect them to try and pop ya though.” 

“I’m sorry Mr. Roronoa sir…” Coby mumbles. "I panicked, I didn't know what to do-" 

"You're lucky I didn’t kill you, _babaca_!" Luffy yells and darts forward to thump him over the head. He's crumpled Coby's hat pretty well by the time Zoro pulls him away. 

“You work with these guys Zoro?” Luffy says with a scowl. 

“Uh-huh.”

“Bunch of assholes, aren’t they?”

Zoro looks Smoker dead in the eye and flashes him a wolfish grin. "Yep." 

They look up as two more men tumble over the snowbank. Luffy stiffens as they run towards Zoro, but instead of tackling him to the ground, one of them wraps his arms around Zoro’s shoulders while the other grabs him tight around the waist.

"ZORO!"

"BRO!" 

“Well, I guess they’re not _all_ bad.” Zoro mutters with a bemused grin.

"We've been worried _sick_ about you, dude!" The man with dark hair and a tattoo of some kind of kanji on his face says.

"You have?" 

The bald guy clinging to Zoro’s waist looks up at him with tears in his eyes. "Of course bro! We kinda… followed Smoker since he was in a hell of a mood. We were worried he was going to wring your neck.”

“So you got yourself a boyfriend, huh?” The dark haired guy says with a smirk on his face and his elbow in Zoro’s ribs.

“Yeah… Luffy this is Johnny and Yosaku. And this is… my boss, Smoker.”

“E aí?” Luffy says with a nod, picking his nose while looking Smoker straight in the eye.

Zoro turns to Smoker again, after wriggling out of Johnny and Yosaku's arms. "So what now, you gonna arrest us?” 

“By all rights I _should!”_ Smoker growls. _“_ The last thing I wanted to do tonight was tell the entire country that a detective under _my_ orders went on a killing spree!”   
“You actually think I did it?”

“You better convince me you didn’t, right now. You’re already not making a good case for yourself when you have the goddamn murder weapon strapped to your back!”

 

Zoro explains, starting from their rescue of Sanji, then up to the note he found at his apartment, and the trail that led them to a room full of bodies. It only makes the smokey-guy angrier. He spits out his cigar stub and immediately lights another, only to wave it angrily in Zoro’s face. "If you thought Mihawk was leadin’ ya on a wild goose chase, you goddamn well should've told me, Sheriff! Has nothing I've told you over the years sunk into that thick skull of yours?!”

“Oh, because reporting back to you has done us _so_ much good before!” Zoro snaps back. “You shit your pants if we so much as say his name!”

“Because every time you’ve had a run-in with this guy you get hurt! What makes you think this time will be any different? I oughta lock you up for your own good at this point!”

Zoro makes an outraged choking sound, but Smoker interrupts him before he can say anything. “You're gonna have a hard time getting anyone to believe you didn't murder the Kurozumis- taking evidence from a crime scene? Were you born this stupid or did you learn it?" 

"I had a good teacher." 

"Well, _we_ knew you didn't do it bro." Yosaku says quietly.

"Yeah, we know our big bro isn't that type of guy." Johnny adds. 

Smoker’s head whips around to glare at them. "Shut _up_ you two!" 

“No, _you_ shut up!” Luffy snaps. “What were you idiotas doing when Sanji was risking his life to save Gin?! Or when we were attacked or-or when that flamingo guy grabbed Sanji and nearly had him tortured to death?! All this shit has been going on under your noses and we’re the only ones who seem to care!”   
Smoker’s mouth opens and closes a few times. He breathes out heavily through his nose, making dual plumes of smoke like a dragon.

“Captain Smoker?” Corazón says quietly. “If I may interject, I came here tonight because I believe what Noda and Roronoa are doing is the right thing. Even if there’s only a small window of opportunity to catch Mihawk… Well, we could make life better for a lot of people in this city.”

The entire group flinches as a pair of men come hurtling over the bank. The first barely gets through the ‘huh’ part in ‘Hey!’ before Tashigi knocks his lights out with the back of her gun, then kicks the other down the snowbank. _Oops, good thing someone was keeping watch._ Luffy thinks guiltily. 

Smoker stares at the limp man falling down the snowdrift, then back at Corazón.

“So, you think now is the right time to go after Mihawk. Corazón this is the stupidest-”

“With Doflamingo down, this might be the only chance we’ll get.” Corazón says, holding up his hands. "I'd stake my life on it." 

Smoker nods tiredly and shoves his cigar back into his mouth. He and Zoro both wear identical scowls as Smoker stares him down. “When this is over, Roronoa, you’re fired.”  
"Do whatever the hell you want." Zoro says sullenly.

Tashigi however, looks nervous as she shuffles over to his side. “Um, Captain Smoker, does that mean me as well?”

“I haven’t decided yet. Well, if we’re all going to get killed, we might as well get on with it. What’s your plan, Rosinante?”

“Follow me.” Corazón says. “The cathedral doors at the front are always locked, so we’ll have to get in through the chapel.”

"You’re lucky it was us who caught up with you and not Hina." Smoker grumbles at Zoro as they hike back up over the snow.

"I dunno if I've ever felt lucky for seeing your ugly mug..." Zoro growls back.

  
  


* * *

 

 

“And one, two, THREE!” Franky hollers as they heave the carcass of an old van onto its side. The metal is thick enough that it’ll make good cover if there’s any shooting.

Sunny patrols around the yard with her tail held high, making thunderous barks that could rival a norse thunder god.

Ace wipes the sweat off his forehead with a gloved hand. The kevlar around his chest is unbearably tight, making his anxiety worse as it makes it hard to draw a breath. Doesn’t matter, not like he was anticipating he’d get to sit down for the rest of the night anyway.

Even from outside, he can hear Zala as she starts hollering from the back room. “I’M IN HERE! CROCODILE, COME AND GET ME YOU _MORON_ !”   
“Can someone go and get her to put a sock in it?” Ace grumbles. “Literally, if anyone has a spare sock...”

He strides through to the lounge to make sure the back door is open, in case they need to quickly get back inside for whatever reason. Once they head out the front doors, they plan on locking them up tight and barricading them against any possible intruders.

"Ace… could you come here for a minute?" he starts a little at Sanji's cracked voice. He glances down at where he's crouched on the floor with a blanket around his shoulders, at least two new nicotine patches peeking out from under the collar of his shirt. 

"What is it? I don’t have a lotta time, stranger." Ace pushes on the bar to make sure it won’t get jammed. He doesn’t feel great about anyone being able to get in, but Robin cleaning out a serious-looking hand cannon nearby eases that a little.

"I meant to ask Luffy to pass on a message before I left but…” Sanji continues, looking a little crazed with his bloodshot blue eyes. “I was too much of a coward. I meant to tell you that… I'm sorry too."

“Huh?” Ace says dumbly.

"That day when everything happened with Gin… The guy really was starving, he was at the end of his rope. I would never turn a hungry person out of my bar, no matter what the danger… But I never told you how when he shoved that gun in my face, I felt… _nothing._ I didn't even think about how my dad or Luffy or you would feel if I died - I didn't care. When Doffy had me strapped to that chair, I knew I probably wasn't gonna leave that room alive. But I didn't care then either.”

He watches Sanji dig his nails into one hand, in an attempt to stop them from shaking. 

"Something inside me is broken. No amount of money or love or therapy can change that. No one has ever loved me like you did, and I never deserved it… I never deserved _you."_

When Sanji is done talking, he hangs his head, ashamed. Ace sighs and sits next to him, running a hand through his messy hair. 

"You say 'deserve' like I was some kinda prize to be won. I'm a person, not a trophy. And I got my own fucked-up set of problems. None of us deserve anything. We have to work for it, become the best possible version of ourselves… and make _sure_ that we deserve it.”

"I don't think that's attainable for me. The best possible version of a shitty person is still, well… shitty."

"You won't know unless you try." 

Sanji glances up at him once before staring at his feet. 

Ace sighs again, thinking back to when they first met as teenagers. He remembers those blue eyes glaring out from a curtain of brittle blonde hair, thin twiggy shoulders and an oversized sweater to hide all the bruises. He had never seen any kid who looked so miserable. It had been easy for Ace to take him under his wing, even if Sanji did punch Luffy in the throat the minute he tried to touch him. Considering where he came from; shitty toxic family and a job as a dishwasher in Zeff's restaurant well… Anything was up. 

"Maybe when this is over we can just… Bury the hatchet? Start again as friends?" Ace says. 

"Yeah… Friends, sure." Sanji says, reaching up to habitually adjust his tie, even though it's a knotted mess hanging limp around his neck now. 

Ace murmurs a surprised noise as Sanji darts forward and catches Ace's lower lip between his. The awkwardness of the maneuver catches Ace off guard, he doesn't think to do much but let Sanji nudge their lips together. Ace still has his eyes open and so sees him wince as he catches his split lip. Sanji looks embarrassed about it almost immediately as he pulls away. "Just two…  ‘friends’. Amigos… Buds… I can do that." 

Ace slowly breaks into a smirk and presses his finger to Sanji's brow. "Just friends?"

"...Friends." 

Ace trails his finger over his eyebrow and traces swirl at the end of it. 

Sanji closes his eyes and trembles slightly. When he opens his eyes again, his pupils are blown wide. "When you come back... I'm tearing the clothes right off your body." 

Ace grins and returns the kiss, being careful to avoid the cut on his lower lip. "Be back in a few, stranger." he says with a grin, hoping Sanji didn't notice how badly his own hands are shaking as he pulls a pair of fingerless gloves on. 

He would never admit it in front of the others, but his own self-preservation instincts have always been pretty low too. He and Sanji have about the same regard for their own well being, that is to say pretty much none. It’s easy for him to give Sanji a pep-talk about getting what they deserve when he’s never once told him about his own insecurities, he’s always felt the need to be the strong one around his ex and especially his brothers. Passing on encouraging words while he spits venomous ones at himself.

 _‘Make sure that we deserve it’, huh? I didn’t even deserve to be_ born.

 

A rumbling shudder under the floorboards nearly knocks everyone standing off their feet. 

"WHAT THE _HELL_ WAS _THAT?!"_ Usopp cries and runs to the window. Ace and Nami accidentally squash him against the pane as they run to look outside. 

Franky had talked about no one having anything big enough to drive through the wrought-iron gates, guess he didn't consider they might have explosives. The heavy front gates are dangling on their hinges, and the snow around it charred black. A black SUV drives through and skids to a halt. Several people get out of it, including Crocodile and the Unibrow. 

A feeling like inhaling pure oxygen courses through Ace’s veins, he feels alert - _alive._ While Usopp’s hands shiver from where they’re pressed up against the glass, Ace’s own hands have stopped trembling. 

“Guess there’s no more rehearsals. This is the night. C’mon.” Ace says.

Usopp immediately bolts back over to the bar, towards the stairs that lead to Robin and Franky's apartment. 

"Where are you going, you coward?" Nami yells after him. 

"I'm headed for the roof, look after Merry for me!" 

Usopp disappears up the stairs and Ace turns to Nami with a scowl. "Guess it's just us then?”

“Don’t worry about Usopp. I’m sure he’ll come through for us.”

 _He better_. Ace thinks in annoyance. Even the four of them together wouldn’t have looked very impressive as they guard Franky House. Three were even worse off.

“Wait, who is _that?”_ Nami murmurs as another car drives up.

“A police car? What fresh hell is this?” Ace says. A huge man with a bull neck steps out, the collar of his red hawaiian shirt peeking out from under his coat and a cap hiding half of his face. “Wonder if that’s the Sakazuki fella Zala was talkin’ about.”

“The chief of police? God, we’re _screwed.”_

“We don’t know that yet. C’mon.” Ace nudges her shoulder and they go to grab their guns. Franky kisses Robin with a grin as he grabs his own weapon, a semi-automatic. “Hold the fort baby.”

“You know it.” Robin purrs, spinning the barrel of her revolver. Ace watches her, impressed at the way she quickly and gracefully loads bullets into it without even using a quick-loader. Sanji’s hugging his knees at her feet, looking at Ace with the most pitiful look on his face, one that seems to be trying to tell him ‘ _come back safe, please?’_ Ace tries to ignore that look as he heads out the door.

 

* * *

 

“I can’t _believe_ you showed up with your goddamn lights blaring, now they'll _all_ know we’re here.” Zoro mutters at Smoker. 

They hurry through the chapel with their footsteps tapping on the stone tiles. The part Corazón mentioned about the roofing needing to be fixed is right. When Zoro glances up, he can see the sky through the holes in the roof. Snow covers the old pews where churchgoers would sit and soggy old bibles and songbooks still sit in the nooks.

“Can it, Roronoa.” Smoker barks over his shoulder.

“You have no right telling me I’m a moron after this."

Tashigi shoulders her way between them. “Is now _really_ the time? You’re both as bad as each other. Stop arguing before we attract even more attention!" 

The two of them harrumph at each other and Zoro strides on ahead.

“As I was _saying.”_ Corazón says tiredly. “Mihawk’s office is in the old vestry. It’s a room in the main cathedral. Once we get through the cloisters, I’ll show you where you can cut through to get there.”   
Zoro grunts in response, the sword on his back clicks with each step. Luffy’s hat scratches against the nape of his neck. Little grounding things, to keep him distracted from the thought that he’s going to see Mihawk’s face again soon. He can feel himself slipping and growing more unfocused, the walls of the chapel nothing but a grey blur as they go by.

Only Luffy’s loud voice manages to snap him out of it. “Didn’t know your boss was such a big fat _jerk!_ ” He’s making a meal of wincing and rubbing at his throat, and looking up at Zoro hopefully. Zoro has gotten good enough at reading him to know he probably wants a bit of coddling, but doesn’t want to admit it. Zoro leans down to kiss the old crescent shaped scar on his cheek and briefly rubs his fingers over the red sore spot across his throat. Luffy gives him a satisfied little smile in return and tugs at his earrings. It hurts a little, but Zoro doesn’t complain. Little, grounding things.

“You’re right about that.” Zoro mutters. A traitorous part of his mind thinks back to when he was in the hospital. Both times he had been attacked by Mihawk, Smoker had been there to visit him. Not to mention protecting him from the eyes of the press when he had been too weak to do it himself. Would he still protect him, now that he’s wanted for murder? 

He shoves away those thoughts, it’s far easier to just hate Smoker’s guts right now.

He looks over his shoulder to shoot Smoker a look. “He’d _love_ to toss me in prison just so he can prove a point.”

Smoker just rolls his eyes. 

 

"This way!" Corazón calls and ducks through an archway. He pokes his head out to look around before running out into some kind of inner courtyard garden, formed by the four walls of the cloisters. A frozen fountain sits in the middle of it, trickling a tiny amount of water through the ice around the spout. There’s a door beyond the fountain, through a small maze of neat hedgerows… but in the way of that are a crowd of goons, from the numbers pinned to their coats, Zoro assumes they’re some of the Billions that work as hired muscle for Baroque Works.

“Oh shit, it’s the fuzz!” one of them laughs as he pulls his gun out.

Smoker yells at Zoro to get down, while Luffy is already charging the group of men with a bellow.

 

Some kind of madness makes Zoro reach for the blade on his back.

He glances at it for a split second and hopes its the dull side of the blade. Wielding such a beautiful blade with the intention to injure is wrong, the brown blood covering sleek silver is wrong, the new nicks and scratches in the pristine steel is _wrong._

But it’s a _sword,_ isn’t this what it was meant for?

Zoro crouches before putting his entire upper body into the swing.

He had chosen wrong.

The sword cuts the man almost in two, the blade sinks into his spinal column and gets stuck there as his blood and guts spill out onto the snow. Just like what Mihawk did to the Kurozumis.

Except not.

Spit flies from the man’s mouth as all his breath leaves him in one big ‘oof!’ noise. He falls over clutching his stomach pathetically, while Zoro is free to smack his friend over the top of the head. He sinks to his knees and falls at Zoro’s feet.

 

“What the _hell_ was that?!” Smoker growls at him from across the courtyard. Luffy cheerfully kicks the spare goon into the fountain and grins at him.

“Zoro, you looked so _cool_!” Luffy says excitedly, tapping his mismatched shoes and making snow fly up around his ankles.

A strange, prickly sweat creeps across the skin of Zoro’s forehead.

_Was I actually thinking about cutting him open?_

He breathes heavily as sweat trickles itchy-hot down the back of his neck. When he flips the blade to catch the light, he can see strands of hair trapped in the dried blood.

He shoves it out of sight back into its sheath.

"You could've done some serious damage if you weren't careful, have you lost your mind?" Smoker carries on, bitching and hawing as they find the door and duck into the cloisters. “Where’s your gun?”  
“Lost it.” Zoro mumbles.

“You came here to arrest Mihawk and you don’t even have your gun on you?”  
“Shouldn’t fire it with one hand anyway. Didn’t you teach me that? That shit’s against regulations...” Zoro mumbles, walking away before Smoker can yell at him more and make his pinching headache worse.

“You are the most reckless pair of idiots I’ve ever seen!” Smoker tells Luffy.

“Hey! I don’t work for you, I don’t gotta do anything you say.” Luffy says, sticking his tongue out as he runs ahead. 

“He may have a point, Zoro.” Tashigi says quietly, her dark eyes boring into his.

“Look, Luffy is a little reckless, but he’s not _stupid-”_

“It’s not him I have a problem with, it’s you. You’re looking like you’re not all here.”  
“It’s… it’s the crime scene back there. I’m fine, honestly.”   
“I know you, Zoro. I know blood and dead bodies have never bothered you. You used to look at crime scenes like they were the morning paper.”   
“Well maybe they bother me now!”

_Losing it - you’re losing it big cat._

He squeezes his eye shut briefly and clenches his fist. “We better keep our eyes forward. Who knows what other creeps are ahead.”

 

The dark corridors of the cloisters keep winding on and on - mazelike, dark and cold. He’s certain he would get lost if Tashigi and Corazón weren’t leading the way. Zoro can hear distant rumbles and murmurs coming down the old stone corridors and quietly alerts Tashigi. They press themselves into an alcove just as a group of people pass. They’re wheeling a load of crates by with a shuddery rumble and Tashigi warns them all to stay put until they pass.

 

It gets harder to see as they step deeper into the dark corridors. Zoro has to wipe a trickle of sweat out of his eye. _Just have to keep my head long enough to see this through, dammit..._ He thinks.

Smoker’s eyes aren’t fixed on what dangers could be ahead, but side-eyeing Luffy.

“What’re _you_ looking at?” Luffy says grumpily. 

“I’ve seen you before, haven’t I?” 

“Yeah, at the hospital when I was visiting Zoro.”

"No, I mean before that. You wouldn't have remembered me, since you were unconscious at the time." 

Luffy jolts and gives him a wide-eyed look. “Unconscious?!”

"You were one of those three dumbshits who used to run around the park and city centre, right? I couldn't close a shift without a report of shoplifting or a dine ‘n dash. Never did catch any of you.”

Luffy laces his hands together on the top of his head and closes an eye at him. “You must suck at your job then, Smokey.”

He gruffs out a humourless laugh. “Like I had nothin’ better to do than hoof it after three shitty kids all day. What good would it have done, apart from wearing my shoes out faster?”

Smoker pinches the bridge of his nose between forefinger and thumb and breathes deeply. “That was one of the worst days of my entire career.”

“Yeah.” Luffy says thoughtfully. “Wasn’t great for me either, seein’ as I nearly died and all.” He pauses thoughtfully before adding. “Are you always this mean to Zoro?”  
“Depends on how obstinate he’s actin’. Ask me again tomorrow and I’ll probably have a different answer for you. I’ve been babysitting him for the best part of a decade and he’s never gotten one bit easier to work with.” 

“You don’t seem that easy to work with either, chefe.”

Zoro smiles, despite himself. They’re still talking when Zoro creeps forward to look around the corner. The coast seems to be clear and he nods the others to join him. 

“Wrong way, Roronoa.” Corazón says quickly. He makes a small growl when Tashigi runs over to yank him back over to the group by his jacket collar.

“So you didn’t arrest us that night because…?” Luffy continues.

“That would’ve been an easy way to get ya off my back, but your brothers were so torn up I couldn't bring myself to.” Smoker sighs. “I never thought you were bad kids, even if you did annoy the shit outta me."

Luffy makes a thoughtful noise, then grins. "Maybe you're not so bad, Smokey. Even if you stink." 

 

A bullet glances off a stone column nearby and Zoro quickly throws himself into cover. The rest of his group follow suit as they see a man stepping out from around the corner.

“That’s far enough.”

His long legs appear before the rest of him does, bizarrely long and wearing red pants with a cream striped shirt. He’s got the absolute biggest mouth Zoro has ever seen and two vertical stripes of red paint down his face.

“Oh shit.” Corazón mutters and tries to pull his hat down over his eyes. “Why’d it have to be Diamante?”

“I think he already saw you, Coração…” Luffy mumbles.

Zoro narrows his eye when he recognizes the weird blonde with high heels and creepy staring eyes, and the rotund man Sunny scared off back at the SMILE warehouse. He’s certain he’s gone crazy when he sees the man has put on an oversized baby’s bonnet over his suit and appears to be chomping on a pacifier.

 

“Shouldn’t you be in jail, along with your stupid boss?” Luffy calls. Another bullet glances off the stone column, crumbling part of it into powder. A few chunks of rubble bounce off Zoro’s shoulder, and he finds himself unconsciously edging in front of Luffy to shield him.

“Doflamingo left me in charge, made me promise to kill you bastards.” Diamante says. The wrinkles around his thin blue eyes deepen. “Corazón! Why are you pretending to help them? Hurry up and kill them!”

Corazón grimaces from under the alcove where he’s crouching at the opposite side of the corridor to Zoro.

“You’re finally betraying us, eh? I knew you would someday.” Diamante continues. He ducks behind a stone column as Coby and Helmeppo trade fire with the weird baby man and horn-hat.

“N-no I’m not!” Corazón stutters.

Zoro smacks himself in the forehead with his palm.

 _HOW ARE YOU A DOUBLE AGENT WHEN YOU’RE SO BAD AT LYING?!_  Zoro wants to scream at him.

Smoker curses as more of their cover crumbles over their heads, the entire place seems to be falling apart. Yosaku ducks out of cover to put a bullet through the frilly lining of baby-man’s bonnet, startling the man so badly his pacifier almost drops out of his mouth.

“We know where Law is.” Horn-hat calls over with a giggle. 

Corazón’s eyes go wide and he freezes to the spot, his cigarette butt falling forgotten out of his mouth.

“Law?” Luffy whips his head around to stare at Corazón open-mouthed. “Dr. Organ-Stealer is your son?!”  
Corazón’s head jerks around to look at him. “Organ-Stealer…? 

“You’re an idiot if you think you kept him a secret.” Diamante adds with a sick grin. “We’ve known for years that he’s alive. But he won’t be for long...”

Horn-hat barks out a high-pitched cackle and flaps his hands excitedly. “Ooh, ooh! Can I do it? Can I go kill him?”

“Sure Dellinger, go nuts.”

The blonde giggles again and bolts off down a side-passage, slamming the door after him. 

Corazón bolts past the bullets whizzing down the corridor and dives into the alcove next to Zoro. He grabs Zoro’s shoulder and in the dull light he can see his eyes are wide and scared. “I’m sorry, Roronoa but… I have to go and warn him. He’s my _son!”_

“You’re leaving?!”  
“I almost lost him once! I _can’t_ go through that again, you have to understand…”   
Zoro hesitantly nods.

“The entryway to the cathedral is blocked by rubble, you’ll have to go out through the graveyard and then take the first door you see on the left. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to finish this by yourselves.”

“...Good luck sir.” Tashigi says.

“Hope Traffy isn’t dead, Coração.” Luffy adds solemnly.

“Yeah… yeah me too.”

Corazón’s coat whirls as he turns to run back down the corridor.

“Crap, I can’t _believe_ that guy!” Yosaku cries. “He’s just leaving us here?!”

“Nevermind him, how the hell are we going to get past that stupid guy with the big mouth?!” Johnny adds.

“They can’t keep shooting forever, push on forward!” Smoker growls. He waits for Diamante to stop and reload before bellowing. “GO!”

Diamante curses and he and the baby-man fall back. Zoro catches him smile around his pacifier as they disappear around the corner. Tashigi leads the way this time, shooting at Diamante’s heels as he runs off.

 

As Zoro turns the corner, he’s surprised when a huge man appears. He’s even more surprised when the same huge man picks him up by the scruff of his neck and throws him through a wall. 

Even though the stonework of the cathedral has the structural integrity of floral arranging foam, it doesn’t make getting thrown through it any less painful. He lays and groans with a chunk of rock digging into the back of his neck.

“Haha, they fell for it! Good job Pica.” Diamante chuckles.

He can feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears and spits out a mouthful of blood as he heaves himself up from the pile of rubble. 

Pica is already waiting for him, looming over him and cracking his knuckles.

As he reaches to his back to draw his sword, Pica grabs his arm and twists it. A strangled snarl comes out of his throat.

“You’ve only got one arm left, it would be a shame if someone broke that one too!” Pica says with all the delight of a child about to pull the legs off a fly. He grabs his upper arm between his fists and _twists_ so hard Zoro can feel the bone starting to bend. The jolt of pain makes Zoro go lightheaded. Then a grin twists Zoro’s face as he remembers what Ace did to the same man back at the warehouse.

“Hey big guy, how’s your foot?”

Realisation creeps across the man’s wide, bovine face. He quickly releases his arm and tries to push Zoro away, but he’s already putting all his weight into bringing his boot down on his toe. Blood spurts out from Pica’s boot like Zoro stood on a grape. 

He shoves his hand into the man’s face as he squeals, putting his palm against his already broken nose and shoving the shards up towards his brain. He’s faintly aware of Tashigi peering through the hole in the wall.

“Zoro! Are you al-” 

She trails off as Zoro punches the man in the nose over and over, until blood is pouring down his face. His feet skid on the rubble covering the floor, making it easier for Zoro to shove him back out the hole in the wall.

“Oh my god.” Tashigi mutters.

“YEAH! KICK HIS ASS QUERIDO!” Luffy yells with his fists in the air. 

When Zoro manages to pull his sword free, he doesn’t bother with any sort of finesse. He just smacks him with the flat of the blade until Pica topples and falls down hard onto his back. He mentally apologises to the blade, and Kuina, as he sheathes it again.

He stands over Pica, panting hard and staring at him, daring the fucker to get back up again.

 

“You fellas should really watch your backs!” Diamante yells from over his shoulder as he disappears.

Johnny and Yosaku dogpiled onto the baby man and have him cuffed, while Coby and Helmeppo try to figure out how to get Pica’s meaty forearms into the tiny cuffs.

“Dammit…” Smoker mutters as they watch Diamante go. “Well, two out of three isn’t bad.”

Luffy’s eyes go wide and his shoulders tense as he looks at something behind Zoro.

“He’s right, you know.” A woman’s voice says.

"SMOKEY, BEHIND YOU!” Luffy screams.

His warning comes a second too late.

Smoker barely has time to turn before the blade of an ice pick is buried in his neck. Monet grins as she pulls it out again, only for Luffy to crash into her before she can bring it down a second time. Someone screams "NO!" as Smoker crumples against the wall with a hand clamped over his neck. The word echoes off down the corridor as Zoro realises he was the one who screamed. 

“Captain-!” Tashigi drops to her knees to press her hands over the puncture wound pouring blood over Smoker's white jacket. 

"Roronoa… I’m- I’m sorry…”

"Hey shut up, don't try to talk!" Zoro snaps as he falls down beside Tashigi, feeling helpless to do anything but clutch at the front of Smoker’s coat. 

Smoker chokes as more blood rushes down his neck and collects in the collar of his shirt. 

“I know I’ve been harsh on you but…” Smoker mumbles, choking as blood bubbles from his lips. “I just didn’t want you to fall into a bad place ‘cause you lost your family…”

Zoro clenches his jaw, horrified at how much paler the man is getting by the second. _Shut up you old fart! You wouldn't say this to my face in a thousand years, not unless you were-_

“Sir, try to hold on, w-we’re calling you an ambulance!" Coby says. Tears stream from his eyes as he fumbles for the radio at his belt.

Smoker raises a weary hand and waves him off. “Don’t bother… they won’t make it up here in time…” He struggles to focus his eyes on Zoro and Tashigi. “You two had better stop him - stop Mihawk. You make all this bullshit worth it…" 

Smokers eyes are still open when his head slumps and the cigar falls from his teeth. 

Tashigi takes her bloody hands away from his neck and she presses at her streaming eyes with the heel of her palm. 

“He’s gone.”

Zoro slowly releases his grip on Smoker’s coat. He and Tashigi silently kneel at his side. The blood steams in the air as it cools. 

They don't even notice Luffy still grappling with Monet down the hall. They shriek and snarl at each other like a couple of animals, Luffy doing his best to hold her wrist as she tries to stab him with the bloody pick. She soon kicks him away and leaves a long cut down his chest as she turns to escape. Her footsteps tap away down the stone corridors and she gives them a victorious little smile as she disappears down a corridor to the left.

Luffy wipes blood off his front, accomplishing little more than smearing it more, and gives them an apologetic little shrug.

“Shigs…” Zoro says, his voice sounding small and cracked. “We should go after her.”

Tashigi nods and cleans her glasses off on her shirt. Coby is quietly sobbing, while the rest of them stare quiet and pale at Smoker’s body.

“You four wait here.” Tashigi orders them. “Call for backup and explain to them what happened as best as you can.”

“Yes Tashigi sir… Uh, ma’am.” Coby says, wiping his eyes on the back of his coat sleeve.

Tashigi nudges his shoulder. “Come on Zoro. We need to finish this.”

He gets up with blood soaking the knees of his jeans and his feet leaving a trail of footprints behind him.

_Goodbye… sir._

  
  


* * *

 

The three of them don’t say a word as they follow Monet’s trail, through the shadows to another part of the cloisters. A heavy set of double doors sit at the end of the corridor, they’re half-open and snow blows through, covering the floor with ice. There’s footprints in the ice from where Monet must have squeezed past. 

Tashigi and Luffy get through the gap easily, but Zoro's wider shoulders and the bulky nuisance of his plaster-coated arm hold him up. Luffy tries to yank him through by his jacket but only succeeds in getting him stuck. Trying to shoulder the door open doesn’t help either - it’s frozen solid.

"Keep going, I’ll try to catch up as soon as I can!" Zoro says, before having to yank himself back out and run off to find another way around. 

Luffy looks around, they're in a large, hexagonal room, but the roof has disintegrated and snow covers the stone floor. He scans the room with a glare, the room is filled with statues. The carvings were covered with sheets before the snow started falling, but the odd lumps and shapes resemble people a bit too much. 

"Are you sure you should be here, when your friends are in danger?” Monet’s voice in the dark room makes Luffy jump. He suddenly wishes he hadn’t thrown his baseball bat at the butt-chin guy.

“I’ve been following you, you know.” Monet coos. “That awful red pickup truck isn’t hard to find. I gave Crocodile the location of your friends...”

Luffy clenches his jaw and his fists, studying the shadows behind the creepy lumpy statues. It feels like they’re staring at him.

“Once they kill Vinsmoke… There'll be no one left to testify against Mihawk. No more witnesses... after we kill you morons too of course." 

“Call them off!” Luffy yells, as he whips his head around wildly trying to find out where she is. Tashigi glares around the room with him with her gun drawn.  
“After what Vinsmoke did to Vergo? No, I don’t think I’m going to. I hope all of them burn in hell.” her voice answers back. He hears a shuffling of snow and runs at the noise, blindly kicking out and knocking a statue over.

 _Fuck... that hurt._ He thinks, as a twinge runs up his ankle.

“It’s not too late…” Monet continues quietly. “You might make it back if you pick up your feet. Maybe if you ask Sakazuki very nicely, he’ll just kill Vinsmoke and let the others go. I heard they just got through the gates...”  
“SHUT UP!”

 _Ace can handle it - he can!_ _He’ll keep everyone safe…_

He hates how the woman puts doubt in his head. He just watched a man die in front of him, anything could be happening back at Franky House.

“Don’t let her get you angry!” Tashigi warns him quietly. “She’s doing it on purpose to make you drop your guard.”

He can barely process her words - too angry and too busy scanning the shadows for any sign of movement. He snarls as he catches snow falling off one of the statues and runs toward it. When he puts his hand out, all he manages to do is pull a sheet off one of the statues. The empty marble eyes of some saint or whatever stare back at him. He hears a low chuckle in his ear.

Monet rushes at him from out of the shadows, her bloody pick in her hand. Her grin is sharp as she stabs it towards his throat.

Luffy darts quickly backwards, but the woman fights dirty. She grabs a handful of bandages from his upper arm and yanks them off sharply. The stitches in his stab wound come with them. Blood pours down his arm as he thrashes around, trying to get her _off_ of him. Cold air hits his lungs as he breathes in sharply, dodging more stabbing blows from the pick.

“Luffy, get down!” Tashigi shouts as she tries to take aim, but Monet notices her and swings Luffy around so he’s in between her and the gun.

He screams as Monet’s boot connects with his injured knee. It buckles reflexively under him and now she’s got her hand on the back of his neck, forcing his face against the ice. He’s sure she’s about to stab him, just like she did the smokey-guy, but instead she leaps forward and goes straight for Tashigi. Her gun goes off, but now Monet is on top of her.

Tashigi screams as Monet buries the ice-pick handle in her shoulder. Tashigi grips Monet’s wrist hard to try and stop her pulling it out and stabbing her again.

“Doesn’t matter a single bit that Smoker’s dead.” Monet says savagely in her ear. “He wasn’t any good to anyone even while he was _alive_!”

Tashigi cries out as she loses her grip slightly and the pick sinks a few inches deeper into her shoulder. “We had him bought from day one, I wanted you to know that.”

“Shut up!” Tashigi chokes. “You’re _lying!_ ”   
“Why else do you think he was dragging his feet on every investigation? Direct orders from Sakazuki. He couldn’t do a thing to stop us, and he was too much of a coward to _try_!”

Luffy growls as he tries to get to his feet - to help her - but his leg is dragging limply when he tries to move it. 

_Stupid body, not now!_

 

There’s a muffled thud, and a door in the shadows bursts open. A cold wind rushes in, bringing a flurry of snow and Zoro with it. 

Monet watches open-mouthed as Zoro rushes at her with his sword drawn, her attention leaves Tashigi, giving her an opportunity to kick the woman off her.

Zoro hits Monet over the back of the knees with the back of his sword and Tashigi jumps on her back. 

She's laughing when Tashigi yanks her arms behind her back to cuff her. 

“No matter what you do here tonight, Mihawk has already got you, _Asura_.” Monet says with a smirk as she looks up at Zoro.

Zoro frowns as she looks him right in the eye. “Asura?”

“That’s the name he picked out for you. What the press are going to call you when you’re tried for the murders. The demon killer who tore Don Krieg and Kurozumi Orochi to pieces with a sword.”

“What the…”

“You’re going to make a wonderful scapegoat, you even look the part… So scary with your sword, and that pretty scar over your eye.”

"You're shitting me…”

"Not one bit. You've already lost, _Sheriff_."

Tashigi yanks Monet to her feet grimly, who’s still chuckling even while disarmed.

“You alright, Shigs?”

“Yeah… Go on ahead, Zoro. I’ll make sure they get her back to the station.”

“When Mihawk kills you, send Smoker my love.” Monet says with a wink.

Zoro turns towards her, his sword still drawn. He doesn’t look like a killer, even with his scarred face and scary sharp look in his eye. He just looks like ‘Zoro’ to Luffy. But the way his shoulders bunch up and the way his fist clenches around the hilt of his sword is unnerving nonetheless.

_I just don’t want you to do anything you might regret._

Luffy slips and skids to his feet as he pulls himself up, with the help of Zoro’s sleeve.

“Zoro… hey. We gotta go.”

“Yeah.” he growls, still staring hard at Monet. 

  
  


* * *

 

They leave Tashigi to drag Monet back over to Coby and the others. Nothing standing in their way as they approach the doors that lead to the graveyard.

“Luffy, hold up a sec!” Zoro pants. He stops doubled-over. The cold is making his lungs burn and he’s struggling to focus his eye on the surroundings. 

“What is it?”

"I just wanted to tell you… You're the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't want to go any further… Until I told you that." 

Luffy frowns at him. "Why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" 

"Luffy…" 

"Tell me you're not saying goodbye!" 

"Look at us… I don't know how long I'll last if there's another fight, and you-" 

He bites his tongue, remembering how things went the last couple times he tried to say Luffy wasn’t looking so good. _I just want you to be safe._

“How many times have I told you, I’m staying with you, to make sure you finish this!”

“Why do you keep getting so mad?”

Luffy’s hair falls over his face as he stares at the ground. “Nothing good ever came of people protectin’ me.”   
“The man who gave me that hat, his name is Shanks. Everyone calls him Red-Haired Shanks or just ‘Red’. I met him when I used to run odd jobs around the city when I was a kid, delivering... _stuff_ for people, and I just sorta latched onto him. I told you how I used to get beat up a lot when I was a kid, right?”   
“It might have come up.”   
“Yeah, well, it’s cause I was an idiot. I used to talk shit to guys much bigger than me.”

 _Used to?_ Zoro thinks.

“Usually I got away with it too.” Luffy continues. “Ace or Sabo or someone else would be there to bail me out of it. They always treated me like a baby. Shanks was kinda the same. I talked shit to the wrong guy, thinkin’ he wouldn’t hurt me because I was a kid.

The guy started _wailing_ on me, told me he was gonna toss me in a bag and throw me in the ocean. So… of course Shanks and his gang saved me… but Shanks he-” Luffy pauses and grabs at his bleeding arm, picking at the torn stitching.

“His arm got all ripped up, and when he got to the hospital he found out… S-Something had got infected or- he had to have it amputated. He lost his arm because of me.”

Luffy bites down hard on his lip and looks away.

"Having people who want to protect you isn't an inherently bad thing, Luffy." 

"Yeah, it _is_ ! Ace got so pissed at me when I threw him out of the way of that car… He kept saying 'You should've let it hit _me_! I'm your big brother, it's my job to protect you!' and all this other crap. 

“I swear some people act like the sun shines out of my ass, like my life is worth more than theirs or something. It's a load of crap… "

"You do tend to inspire that in people. You're pretty amazing, Luffy." 

"Don't you start…" Luffy mutters, but there's a smile on his face as Zoro nudges their foreheads together. He kisses the scar Crocodile's hook gave him and Luffy mumbles into his collarbone as he hugs him.

"Zoro, you're part of my família now… It’s what I call all my friends, cause we're more than friends. It's kinda hard to explain…" 

"There's a word for that in my language too: nakama. I guess you could translate it to ‘comrade’ or ‘friend’ but… To me it always meant the kind of bond that goes deeper than just blood. The family you choose for yourself." 

"Nakama, huh?" Luffy breathes. "I like it…"

Zoro whines with pain as Luffy grabs him by the ears and yanks his head towards him. "Well, nakama or família or whatever, we don't say goodbye! I need you to say it Zoro." 

"I'm… not saying goodbye?" 

"Say it again." 

"I'm not saying goodbye. Can you let go of me?! That hurts!" 

Zoro writhes out of his grip, so crazy-strong he has to tug on Luffy’s hair to pry him off. He glares at him for a second before grabbing him and kissing him desperately. It feels hollow and empty, because he has no idea how much he really means it.

 

The graveyard yawns wide-open in front of them, no light to see anything more than a few yards ahead and choked with overgrown plants. The snow seems to be falling harder than ever as Zoro looks up to see the cathedral looming overhead. He wipes snowflakes from his lashes as he tries to look around. He stops dead in his tracks when he senses someone nearby, standing amongst the graves. Then he hears a soft voice speaking very close by.

 

"If you were to go on a trip... where would you like to go?" 

  
  


* * *

  
  
  
  


*this is pronounced exactly like Corazón normally would be, just with the brazilian portuguese spelling and a softer ‘ss’ sound. According to google translate anyway.


End file.
